Pika and Bun's One-shot Wonders
by ravengal
Summary: A collection of one-shots about the adorable escapades of Ash's Pikachu and Dawn's Buneary. Some have humour, some have angst, some have suspense, but all have romance. Lagomorphshipping.
1. Ketchup Capers

Author's note: Hi there! Well, since this site's drastically low on LS, I thought about making a one-shot collection dedicated solely to Pikachu and Buneary. :P Is this a good idea, do you think?

* * *

**Ketchup Capers**

It had been a long hard day for Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu; there had been non-stop excitement since the moment they'd woken up. First, Dawn had screamed about her hair being a mess and the fact that she couldn't find her gel... then they'd been attacked by Team Rocket, again trying to steal Pikachu... then they'd had to break up a huge fight between a Dragonite, a Rhyperior and a Hariyama over territory... then Ash had been challenged by at least ten different trainers... then Team Rocket had come back and tried to steal the Pokemon of one of the challengers... then they'd been chased by a very angry Hippowdon when Ash had played with its Hippopotas cub. They were all exhausted and completely starving by the time they reached the Pokemon Centre.

"Nurse Joy!" Brock cried out, grabbing the nurse's hands across the counter. "Oh, such pleasure it grants me to see your beautiful-" His stomach growled very loudly. He hung his head and let go of her hands, apparently giving up. "Never mind."

"Oh, dear..." Nurse Joy replied, "you sound like you haven't eaten all day."

"Actually, we haven't," Dawn replied, embarrassed. "A lot of things have been keeping us busy."

"Oh, dear... Well then, how about I get Chansey to feed your Pokemon while I make you something to eat?"

"That sounds great, Nurse Joy!" Ash replied happily.

"Chansey! We have some Pokemon that need feeding!"

"(Coming!)" Chansey replied as she plodded into the room.

As soon as Nurse Joy pulled out three Pokeball holders and placed them on the counter, all three humans began taking out their Pokeballs and placing them in the slots. Pikachu was just about to jump off Ash's shoulder and join them when his nose picked up the most delicious of aromas.

"(What the-?)" he asked, sniffing harder. This was a very familiar smell... one that he hadn't smelled in a long time. "(Is that-?)"

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Pikachu glanced around the Pokemon Centre until his eyes landed on a bottle off ketchup that a teenaged boy was squirting onto his fries. His eyes widened in delight at the beautiful and heavenly plastic bottle.

"(Ketchup!)" he cried out, jumping off Ash's shoulder and running towards it.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu stopped by the boy's feet, completely and utterly transfixed by the bottle. Sweet, beautiful ketchup; he'd not eaten that stuff in _so_ long.

Ash's shadow suddenly loomed over him. "Oh, I get it. You want some ketchup, right, buddy?"

Pikachu nodded. "(Yes!)"

"Alright then... you can stay out here and share _my_ meal... then you can have all the ketchup you want."

Happy beyond belief, Pikachu ran over and hugged Ash's ankle. "(Thank you, Ash!)"

Suddenly, the sound of a Pokeball opening filled the air. "(Hello!)" Buneary called out.

Pikachu glanced over to her, still clinging to Ash's ankle. "(Huh? Buneary?)"

"What's wrong, Buneary?" Dawn asked.

"(If Pikachu's staying out here, then I am too!)" Buneary replied, hopping off the table and towards Pikachu. Once she reached him, she tackled him and snuggled into his fur.

At the contact, Pikachu's breath caught in his throat and his heart rate doubled. Why was she always so forward? It always made him feel so awkward... and, yet, he couldn't help but feel flattered at the same time. She _really_ liked him, but he never had any idea how to deal with it, since it had never happened before.

Dawn clapped her hands together. "Oh, I see! You wanna stay with Pikachu, right?"

"(Yep!)"

Brock chuckled. "Well, why not?" he asked. "It can't do any harm."

* * *

Some time later, after Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu and Buneary had all filled their bellies full of delicious food, Pikachu had taken to snacking on ketchup... straight from the bottle, just like old times. Fortunately, Nurse Joy had let him keep the bottle, so he didn't have to worry about giving any future customers his germs.

Buneary was sitting nearby, watching him lick away at the delicious condiment with adoration in her eyes. Although this was slightly unnerving, he didn't mind so much; he did enjoy her company, after all. It was only that she could be a bit _too_ much of a fangirl sometimes.

He thought back to the time when Ash and Brock had been travelling with Misty... and he'd been licking ketchup from the opening of a _glass_ bottle. Ah, that glass bottle; his only regret was not eating all the ketchup inside it before it had been broken by that Scyther.

Buneary fidgeted. "(Um, Pikachu?)" she asked.

He looked at her, still licking ketchup. "(Yeah?)" he replied.

She pulled her fluffy fur up to her face and peered over the top of it. "(What does that stuff taste like, anyway?)"

He stopped licking, completely stupefied. "(You've never tasted ketchup before?)"

She shook her head. "(No.)"

He blinked stupidly at her. "(Wow... You don't know what you're missing!)"

She fidgeted with her fur and, for a moment, he stared at her. It never ceased to fascinate him that her fur looked like a fluffy cloud... or maybe cotton candy. "(It's that good?)"

He snapped out of his trance and grinned. "(Heck yeah!)" He aimed the bottle at his face and gently squeezed. "(Its-)" Ketchup suddenly splattered all over his face. He sat staring in shock at the bottle.

Next to him, Buneary fell over, laughing, her face bright red. "(Oh, Pikachu! You look so funny!)"

He narrowed his eyes at her, not at all amused, then shook the ketchup off his face. He watched as Buneary continued to roll around the floor, laughing.

Suddenly, an evil idea formed in his mind, but he wasn't sure whether or not to go through with it. He was a nice Pokemon, right? He didn't do evil things... but Buneary's tirade of laughter was crying out for him to take revenge. Eh, he supposed that he could afford to be evil, just once.

He smirked. "(Hey, Buneary?)"

She calmed down and sat up, still red-faced. "(Yeah?)"

He aimed the bottle at her and squeezed on it, hard. Ketchup came squirting out of it very much like a Water Gun attack and hit her square in the face.

The sight was too much to bear; he burst out laughing and fell on the floor, dropping the bottle and rolling around. "(I think... you've got... something on your face, Buneary!)"

"What on Earth is going on?" Dawn asked.

"I dunno," Ash replied. "... Pikachu, why is there ketchup everywhere?"

Pikachu laughed harder, unable to control his mirth. Was this what it was like to be evil? Did Team Rocket get these kinds of kicks from trying to steal him constantly? He was starting to understand.

"(This means war!)" Buneary cried out.

Pikachu stopped laughing, lifting his head to look at her. She was now holding the ketchup bottle and aiming it at him, a huge smirk on her face.

His eyes widened in horror. "(Y-You wouldn't dare!)" he said.

Buneary paused for dramatic effect, then squeezed the bottle. "(Ketchup Gun!)"

Once again, his favourite condiment smacked him in the face, completely coating his yellow fur. He shook his head to get it off.

"Buneary!" Dawn cried out in shock.

"They really shouldn't play around with the ketchup," Brock said.

Pikachu, however, was determined to get revenge. That familiar adrenaline rush that he'd always get in the heat of battle was now overtaking his body. He smirked; this was no longer a game, this was a battle... and a volcano would freeze over before he'd give up in this battle. The only problem would be that Nurse Joy wouldn't appreciate a ketchup fight in the Pokemon Centre.

He leapt at Buneary, tackling her to the ground and rolling across the floor with her. Once they stopped rolling, he pinned her down.

"(So, you wanna play, do ya?)"

Her face flushed bright red. "(P-Pikachu!)" Unable to get to her fluffy fur, her ears fell over her face. She made insane giggling noises underneath them.

Taking his chance, Pikachu leapt off Buneary and grabbed the bottle of ketchup. Aiming it at her stomach, he squeezed, completely drenching her fluffy fur in the sticky liquid. She squealed the moment it made contact, then glanced at him upside-down.

He stuck his tongue out at her. "(Catch me if you can!)"

She jumped to her feet. "(Hey!)"

He took that as his cue to move. Capping the bottle, he placed it on the floor and slid it towards the entrance. He then got on all fours and chased it before jumping on top of it and riding it like a surfboard.

"(Yeeha! Cowabunga!)"

"(Hey, wait!)"

He glanced behind him to see that Buneary was hopping after him. Perfect, that was exactly what he wanted. Smirking, he turned back around in time to watch the front doors slide open as a young trainer walked in. The girl yelped as Pikachu slid past her.

Once the ketchup bottle slid to a stop, he jumped off it, picked it back up and uncapped it. Soon after, Buneary came hopping outside. Stopping opposite him, she looked at him questioningly.

Pikachu decided, for reasons unknown even to him, to make a show of it. "(Buneary! I challenge you...)" He posed dramatically. "(To a ketchup fight!)" He held that pose for a moment, then waved the bottle at her. "(Try to take this bottle from me... if you dare...)"

Buneary stared at him for a moment, then beamed, bouncing on her tip-toes. "(Okay! I accept your challenge!)"

Pikachu laughed happily. "(Then come and get me!)

* * *

A short while later, Pikachu and Buneary were both completely covered in ketchup... with Ash, Dawn and Brock watching incredulously whilst leaning against the wall of the Pokemon Centre... but, honestly, Pikachu didn't care. He was having more fun than he could have possibly imagined with Buneary.

The two of them had continuously wrestled each other to gain possession of the ketchup bottle, in order to use it against each other, and they hadn't yet stopped to take a break. Who knew that she was this much fun? He could hardly believe that underneath the bashful yet forward fangirl was a Pokemon who truly enjoyed a good time. He should really ask her to play with him _again_ sometime.

Buneary squeezed the bottle and fired yet another stream of ketchup at him, but, this time, he was ready; he opened his mouth and inhaled it. It was absolute heaven on his tongue. As he swallowed it, he couldn't help but swoon over the taste.

She fired again, this time hitting him in the face and laughing about her victory. He shook it out of his eyes and pretended to glare at her.

"(Feel my wrath!)" she called out, squeezing the bottle again.

He watched in amazement as the plastic bottle made a noise of protest and dribbled. Buneary looked at it in confusion and tried again, only to get the same result.

It took a moment for it to sink in, then Pikachu started laughing. "(Looks like we used it all up!)" he said.

"(Huh...)" She squeezed it a few more times, only to get a few more dribbles. "(You're right...)" She shrugged and dropped the bottle on the floor.

Dawn sighed from her position against the wall. "Are you two done now?" she asked.

"(Yep!)" Buneary replied, smiling.

"Looks like you had fun," Ash said cheerfully.

"(We sure did!)" Pikachu replied.

"Yeah, but they're a real mess now," Brock said with an exasperated smile. "They could really do with a clean-up."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed, "they're so sticky."

Pikachu grinned. "(I couldn't agree more!)" he said, lifting his arm and licking away at his fur.

Buneary giggled. "(I second that!)" she added, mimicking him. Pikachu watched in amusement as she licked her arm. Suddenly, her face lit up. "(Hey! This stuff _is_ tasty!)" She licked her arm faster.

Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle before getting to work on cleaning his other arm. "(Told you)."

Ash laughed. "Come on, you two..." he said, "you really should have a bath."

Pikachu licked faster, giggling. "(Never!)"

He looked over at Buneary to see her wiping the remains of ketchup from her face with her paws, then she suddenly stopped and stared at him. He vaguely wondered why she could possibly be staring at him when she began hopping towards him. He stopped his licking to watch her as she came to a stop in front of him.

She giggled girlishly. "(Um, Pikachu?)" she asked.

"(Yeah?)"

She leaned her face so close to his that their noses were almost touching. He felt his heartbeat quicken slightly. "(Let me get that.)" She licked his nose.

A moment passed where Pikachu felt like his heart had malfunctioned. She'd _licked_ him? That kind of action was usually reserved for... _mates_. He suddenly felt his face burn bright red.

He assumed that his blush had affected Buneary, because she blushed straight afterwards and hid behind her fur, giggling like a woman possessed.

"Aww, did you see _that_?" Dawn asked excitedly. "That was so cute!"

Pikachu's heart was still tying itself into knots in his chest; that was the most intimate that Buneary had ever been with him. He'd thought that she'd been forward _before_? Jeez. Flirting with him didn't even _compare_ to licking him... although, for some reason that he didn't quite understand, he couldn't keep himself from smiling.

**The End**


	2. Over The Edge

Authors' note: Hello again! Here's a new one-shot to add to the collection, with many more to come!

This particular one-shot was inspired heavily by ChristianDragon's story, Desperate Love. Since I was taking things in a different direction, it was really difficult to write... but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Also, haha. This one-shot is considerably longer than Ketchup Capers. That was unintentional, but never mind. I don't think I'll bother with perfection here, since they're just a bunch of one-shots. Lol.

* * *

**Over The Edge**

It was a beautifully sunny afternoon when Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu decided to stop for a rest by a shimmering lake. Currently, Ash and Dawn were relaxing in the shade of a large tree, while Brock patiently stirred away at the stew that he was cooking. Their Pokemon, in the meantime, were all out of their Pokeballs and were either running around, splashing in the water or sunbathing.

Buneary was one member of a small group of Pokemon that were playing tag. She'd have probably sunbathed instead, if it hadn't been for the fact that her beloved Pikachu had wanted to play tag. She giggled to herself as she chased him, completely ignoring the other Pokemon in the group. Oh, that Pikachu; she'd go anywhere that _he_ did, no question. If it meant that she could be near him, she'd gladly do whatever it took.

The yellow mouse suddenly ducked into a few bushes, so, hot on his heels and giggling happily, she followed him. Upon reaching the other side, however, she stopped in her tracks at the curious sight of Pikachu standing beside a sunbathing female Togetic.

"(Why, _hello_ there,)" the Togetic said with a smirk as she sat up. "(My, it's not often I get such an _attractive_ male invading my privacy.)"

Buneary bristled; did that happiness Pokemon just call her Pikachu attractive? She wasn't about to stand for it if another female decided to flirt with him. _She'd_ seen him _first_, after all... and had been after his heart for quite a while now. She was sure that she'd been making progress and no one was going to interfere with that.

To her increasing annoyance, Pikachu blushed and scratched the back of his head. "(Oh, really?)" he asked. "(Uh, thanks!)"

The Togetic lifted off the ground and hovered in front of Pikachu. "(Such lean muscle... You clearly work out a lot...)" She leaned her face close to his and his blush darkened. "(And I can sense that you're really strong... I like that in a man.)"

Buneary was fuming now; how _dare_ she talk like that to _her_ Pikachu! Well, technically, he wasn't hers, but he was her crush! Her beloved! She began storming over to put a stop to this.

"(Oh... yeah?)" Pikachu smiled, laughing nervously.

Was he actually starting to _like_ that stupid flying-type? She was clearly a flirt who didn't really _love_ Pikachu, like _she_ did... Not to mention, she wasn't about to hand him over to a Pokemon who'd only just met him!

"(Mmm-hmm... You'd make a _fine_ mate, I'm _sure_...)"

Finally, after reaching Pikachu, Buneary clasped onto his arm and snarled at the Togetic. "(Stay away from him!)" she yelled.

The Togetic looked oddly amused at her fury. "(Oh, is that so? Tsk. It seems I have a rival for your affection, my dear Pikachu.)"

"(Don't call him that! You have _no right_ to call him that!)"

The Togetic chuckled. "(What's it to _you_?)"

Buneary tried glaring even sharper daggers. "(You don't love him. He's nothing to you but a plaything! You've probably been through more 'mates' than I could count!)"

"(Buneary...)" Pikachu said nervously.

"(What, on your non-existent fingers?)" the Togetic asked. She scoffed. "(You're right, though. I get bored easily. This guy's handsome and strong, though, so he'd keep me _amused_ for a while. Heck, he'd probably even provide good kids, if I chose to _have_ any with him.)"

Buneary's fury boiled over; not only was she disrespecting Pikachu by referring to him as a thing to keep her amused, but _kids_? _Kids_? Over her dead body!

"(That's it!)" she screamed, finally snapping. "(Ice Beam!)"

She felt the familiar icy chill as the attack shot up from her heart, formed in front of her mouth and blasted towards the Togetic. It struck her square in the chest and she screamed in agony, then fell to the floor.

"(Buneary!)" Pikachu called out in horror, trying to wrench free and check on the Togetic.

Buneary, now feeling extremely possessive of what was rightfully hers – since she loved that 'something' more than life itself and had worked so hard to obtain it – tightened her grip on his arm.

"(No! Stay away from her.)"

"(But, Buneary!)"

"(Ugh...)" the Togetic groaned as she climbed to her feet. "(Ow...)" She scowled at Buneary. Unfazed, Buneary scowled right back. "(Fine. You want him so bad, keep him. I'm sure I'll find a _much_ better guy to play with.)" Lifting into the air, she flew away, disappearing over the horizon.

Buneary scoffed. "(And good riddance!)" She turned to smile at Pikachu, satisfied that the witch had finally left. "(Come on, Pikachu! It's time to head back.)"

"(Uh, yeah...)" Pikachu replied, his ears drooping slightly. "(How about we give up on playing tag? I'm... not in the mood anymore.)"

"(Hmm?)" The realisation suddenly dawned on her. "(Oh yeah, tag!)" After all that had happened, she'd completely forgotten about that. She beamed at him. "(Okay, sure!)"

* * *

It was a short while later and everyone was eating their lunch, stew for the humans and type-specific pellets for the Pokemon. Buneary's bowl was, as usual, right next to Pikachu's as the two of them ate their pellets. Now, normally, this wouldn't bother the electric mouse. After all, he did _like_ Buneary; he considered her a good friend and found her affection for him quite flattering, if embarrassing. It was the fact that her arm was still wrapped around _his_ arm, the grip tightening every few moments, then loosening again, that was bothering him.

"(Uh, Buneary?)" he asked. "(You know, you _can_ let go now.)"

Buneary's grip tightened. "(Don't be silly,)" she replied happily. "(I need to keep you safe from any more flirty females... like that Togetic.)"

He sighed; he just wasn't going to get her to let go, was he? Hinting certainly wasn't working. Ordering would probably be more effective, but he wasn't the ordering type. Besides, he knew very well how sensitive Buneary was; she'd probably burst into tears if he ordered her to let go of his arm.

After everyone had finished eating and Brock had washed out all of the bowls, Ash and Dawn stood up and stretched.

"Okay, guys!" Ash said. "What do you say we get back on the road?"

"(Yeah!)" the entire posse of Pokemon chorused.

At this point, Buneary was still clinging to Pikachu's arm, so Pikachu was quite relieved to know that she'd be back inside her Pokeball soon. He was rather looking forward to a bit of freedom.

"Alright." Ash pulled out two Pokeballs. "Return!"

Dawn copied his actions. "Return!" she said.

Brock also copied his actions. "Return!" he said.

The corresponding Pokemon all flew back inside their Pokeballs. This was continued several times until only Piplup and Buneary were left.

Dawn held up their Pokeballs. "Return!"

Piplup returned to his Pokeball without any resistance, but Buneary hopped out of the way of her beam of red light, dragging Pikachu through the air with her. He yelped at the surprise manoeuvre.

"(No!)" Buneary shouted once landing back on the ground.

Dawn looked baffled. "Buneary? What's wrong?" She frowned in determination. "Return!"

Again, Buneary hopped out of the way, dragging Pikachu with her. He really wished that she'd let go of him before jumping around; it was making him feel a bit disorientated.

"(I'm not going back inside my Pokeball!)" She clung tightly to his arm. "(I'm staying with Pikachu!)"

Pikachu sighed, exasperated. "(Buneary...)" he said.

Dawn stopped frowning and lowered the Pokeball. "You... don't wanna go in your Pokeball?" she asked.

"(Right!)" Buneary replied, nodding.

"It looks like Buneary wants to stay out here with Pikachu," Brock pointed out.

Ash sighed. "Buneary's acting really weird, don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Dawn replied, putting the Pokeball away. "This is weird, even for _her_." She paused. "But, if this is what she wants..."

Pikachu groaned; so much for getting his freedom today.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Pikachu grew more and more tired of Buneary constantly clinging to him. It seemed that, wherever _he_ went, _she_ went. Ash tried to battle a random trainer with him, but, since the opponent was a female Growlithe, Buneary refused point-blank to let go of his arm. In the end, Ash had to use a different Pokemon, which irritated Pikachu, as he'd been quite keen to battle.

He wasn't even able to _sleep_ alone, since Buneary was there, snuggling up to him. Slightly irritated at the lack of personal space, but deciding to be respectful, he ignored his feelings and went to sleep, believing that, surely, she'd give up sooner or later.

She didn't, so the cycle continued. Buneary would refuse to go back inside her Pokeball, then either cling to his arm, cuddle him or stand so close that her fur pressed up against his waist. With every passing day, he grew more and more irritated.

Team Rocket even tried to steal him again, but, since Buneary was clinging to him at the time, they accidentally stole her too. This also irritated him, as he couldn't even be _stolen_ without her around him. They ended up stuck in a glass cage together, Buneary _still_ clinging to him, as they waited to be rescued by Ash, Dawn and Brock.

The more this happened, the darker his mood got; when was she going to give him some breathing room? As much as he liked her, he really couldn't take this much longer.

On their way into a new town, they encountered a lost female Eevee, who was really upset and desperate to be reunited with her trainer. _His_ first instinct was to help her, but _Buneary's_ first instinct was to tighten her grip on his arm and snarl, which rather frightened the poor evolution Pokemon. They then spent the rest of the day trying to _find_ that trainer, Buneary never once letting go of his arm as the Eevee walked alongside them.

Finally, they managed to reunite the two and make their way to the Pokemon Centre. While Brock flirted with that town's Nurse Joy and Croagunk gave him a Poison Jab up the backside, Pikachu was darkly thinking to himself that, maybe _now_, while they were being healed, he'd get some time to himself, as they'd have to lie in separate healing machines.

"(Hello!)" a Chansey said cheerfully to the three Pokemon that were currently out of their Pokeballs. She indicated to the back room with her paw. "(If you three would come this way, please?)"

Croagunk passed Pikachu and Buneary on the way over to the Chansey and Pikachu was about to join him when Buneary yanked him back. He frowned at her.

"(I don't trust her, Pikachu,)" she said quietly. "(Maybe we should go with Nurse Joy instead. At least _she's_ not a Pokemon...)"

Pikachu was starting to get aggravated. Chansey? _Chansey_? Alright, fine, he was in the same egg group as Chansey – just as he'd been with the Togetic, Growlithe and Eevee – but Chansey? Honestly... Chansey was his carer! His nurse! If he hadn't been interested in all the Chansey that had come before, why should he start being interested _now_? Buneary seriously needed to sort out this jealousy of hers... not to mention let go of his freaking arm!

"(Don't be ridiculous, Buneary,)" he said, dragging her over to Chansey. "(Let's just go get healed already.)"

Thankfully, he managed to get his well-deserved peace in the healing room, but, as soon as they were let out again, she was back to clinging to his arm. By now, he just felt like screaming.

* * *

After seeing the sights of the city and spending the night in the Pokemon Centre, the gang were off again the next morning. Somewhere along their travels, Team Rocket again tried to steal Pikachu and again accidentally stole Buneary as well... then, after a heroic rescue and sending Team Rocket skyward, they encountered a trainer performing magic tricks with her female Skitty. The moment the Skitty approached Pikachu to say 'hello', Buneary snarled at her and pulled him away.

Eventually, the humans stopped in the middle of an open field, released their Pokemon and sat down while Brock got to work on cooking their food. Pikachu was now rather keen to get a game of tag started, as it would give him some much needed time away from Buneary. After all, she trusted her friends and team-mates, didn't she? Surely, she'd have no reason to be possessive right now.

"(Let's play a game!)" Happiny called out as she skipped over.

Buneary pulled Pikachu back and growled. "(Stay away,)" she snarled.

Happiny stopped her skipping and stared at Buneary for a few moments. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled. Pikachu couldn't believe it as Buneary scowled harder and Happiny ran off, crying.

Fury boiled within him. _(Oh, so Chansey wasn't bad __**enough**__?)_ he thought. _(Now she has to pick on __**Happiny**__? Freaking __**Happiny**__, who can't even __**breed**__?)_

Buneary huffed. "(Serves her right.)"

He couldn't take anymore; he'd officially snapped. "(Alright, that's it!)" he yelled. "(_Get off me_!)" He wrenched his arm free so roughly that she tumbled backwards. She landed on her back on the grass and gazed up at him fearfully. He glared lasers at her. "(I'm sick to death of you being so clingy and possessive, Buneary! First the Togetic, then the Growlithe, then the Eevee, then _Chansey_, now freaking _Happiny_! Just leave me _alone_!)" He turned around and stormed off. "(_Don't_ come near me again!)"

* * *

Buneary was in shock as she watched Pikachu storm off towards the other end of the field. Had he... really... yelled at her? Did he really not... want her near him again?

Tears obscured her vision. He'd yelled at her! Her beloved Pikachu had yelled at her! She felt like scum... the lowest scum on Earth. Why couldn't he see what she'd been doing for him? She'd tried so hard to keep any females like that Togetic away from him... and he'd yelled at her. The tears leaked down her face. Maybe she'd gone overboard. There had been a few times when she'd suspected that... but she never dreamed that he'd feel this way about it. It was all her fault. She'd angered him and he'd yelled at her. It was all her fault. Covering her eyes and sobbing, she quickly hopped over to where her preferred choice of comfort was relaxing on the grass.

"(Dawn!)" she cried out, leaping into her trainer's lap and sobbing into the girl's black shirt.

"Buneary!" Dawn shrieked, immediately wrapping her hands around her. "What's wrong?"

Buneary didn't answer, not that Dawn would have been able to understand her anyway. Instead, she just wanted to continue sobbing until her tears ran dry.

* * *

Ever since Pikachu's outburst at Buneary, the other Pokemon had been avoiding him, either out of fear or annoyance, but he'd been too busy fuming to care. Now, a while later, he'd managed to cool down... and was starting to feel rather guilty about what he'd said. Sure, he'd been annoyed, but that was no excuse for his drastic break in character.

He smiled gratefully at Ash as the boy handed him a bowl, then he placed it on the floor, sat in front of it and watched as Brock filled it up with electric-type pellets before moving away. He then waited for Buneary to come over and sit next to him, as she always did. He was sure that she would, because she wasn't one to give up easily, and that would be his perfect opportunity to apologise about earlier. Once he sensed a presence, he looked up hopefully, only to see Buizel sit down next to him. Placing his bowl next to Pikachu's, Buizel waited for Brock to fill it with water-type pellets and walk away again before glaring at Pikachu from the corner of his eyes.

Pikachu blinked at him. "(Buizel?)" he asked. "(What's wrong?)"

Buizel didn't look impressed. "(Pfft,)" he replied. "(What do you _think's_ wrong?)"

"(Um...)"

Buizel folded his arms and turned his head to glare at him. "(I heard your little outburst earlier... and I'd say you went a little overboard.)"

Pikachu's ears drooped and he shifted guiltily. "(Oh... Well, yeah, I kinda did...)" He paused and straightened his ears, feeling defiant. "(But she did push me pretty hard. I just snapped at her, that's all! I'm gonna apologise for that anyway.)"

Buizel narrowed his eyes. "(Oh? And when do you plan on doing _that_?)"

"(When she sits _near_ me, of course!)"

Buizel continued to scowl at him, then glanced over his head. "(That isn't gonna happen anytime soon.)"

"(Huh?)"

Pikachu turned around to see what Buizel was looking at, then felt his heart plummet into cold nothingness. There was Buneary, sitting twenty feet away from the rest of the group and slowly eating her normal-type pellets with a blank expression on her face. Everything about that expression looked wrong on the rabbit Pokemon, who was always smiling and giggling. The forever-present light in her eyes had vanished.

"(Hmph. See what you've done to her?)" Pikachu slowly turned back to look at Buizel, who was no longer looking at him. "(Now, Buneary and I may not be the best of friends, but we _were_ team-mates once. I do care about her.)" He went back to glaring at Pikachu. "(And I don't appreciate one of my _current_ team-mates upsetting one of my _former_ team-mates.)"

Pikachu's ears drooped as far as they would go as the guilt consumed him; how could he have been so heartless? Why couldn't he have just put a stop to the possessiveness earlier? And more gently? He was such a jerk.

* * *

A while later, when everyone had finished their lunch, there was a tense awkwardness in the air as everyone, human and Pokemon alike, regarded Buneary, who was still sitting away from the rest of the group. Pachirisu tried asking her to play with him, but she declined and watched him walk away.

She knew that she was the centre of attention right now, but she simply didn't care. After sobbing herself dry on Dawn's shirt, she'd lapsed into a world of comfortable numbness. She felt no anger, no sadness... just consuming depression.

He hated her now; the one Pokemon in the world that she loved more than anything hated her... and it was all her fault. She'd never fix this. He'd go on with his life, meeting another female, falling in love with her and having kids with her... and she'd be alone, left to wallow in her misery. She'd been unreasonable, she knew that now, and her lapse in character had driven him away.

"(Hey, Buneary?)" a familiar mouse Pokemon's voice asked timidly.

She looked up at him. "(What?)" she asked emotionlessly. She was surprised that he was there, but not enough to reduce the depression.

Pikachu fidgeted, then glanced behind him. Following his gaze, she caught sight of Buizel, who had his arms folded and was glaring at the electric mouse from his seating position twenty feet away. She was too far gone in her misery to even try to figure out what this meant.

"(Um... well...)" He looked back at her and she locked gazes with him. He cringed. She knew it had to do with the emptiness of her eyes, but she couldn't make herself care. "(I...)" He fidgeted with his fingers. "(About earlier... I just wanted to-)"

"(I'm sorry.)" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. If she was never to come near him again, the least she could do was apologise.

He blinked at her. "(Huh?)"

"(I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. It was way out of line.)" She looked down at the grass and emotionlessly plucked out a few blades one at a time. "(I should know better than to restrict your freedom like that. I'm sorry.)"

There was a long pause. Curious, she glanced up at Pikachu, who seemed to be a bit stuck for words. Throwing the blades of grass to one side, she carefully studied his face.

After a moment, he snapped out of it. "(Uh, thanks...)" He fidgeted again. "(I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I should have been nicer... and more understanding.)"

Her throat constricted. "(It's not like I didn't deserve it.)" She glanced away, so she wouldn't have to look at him anymore. She didn't want her emotionless state to break now. "(Thanks anyway, though.)" She paused. "(Shouldn't you leave now? You don't want me near you, remember?)"

Pikachu heaved a deep sigh. "(Buneary...)" She didn't look at him. "(Buneary?)" She turned to look at him. He gave a gentle smile. "(I didn't mean that. I was angry and my head was all messed up and...)" He sighed again. "(I do like you, you know... and I like having you near me.)" He smiled brighter. "(It's nice, you know?)"

Buneary felt a warm glow inside her. _(He... likes me?)_ she thought. It suddenly felt like the ice in her heart was quickly melting away. She tried to curse herself for that, but it was difficult.

Pikachu held out his paw. Tentatively, Buneary grabbed it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "(I wouldn't _really_ want you to leave me alone.)" He chuckled. "(Life's more interesting with _you_ hanging around me!)"

Buneary blushed, partly from the lovely words, partly from the fact that he hadn't let go of her paw. "(So... you don't hate me?)"

Pikachu blinked at her, then laughed. "(_Heck_ no! Far _from_ it! You're one of a kind, Buneary! Really cute, really sweet... and a great _friend_ to me!)"

Buneary paused a few seconds, absorbing all this information, then her brain malfunctioned and she flung herself at him. "(Pikachu!)" She snuggled happily into his fur. "(Oh, you're so sweet! Thank you!)" She snuggled for a few moments more, before freezing in horror and jumping away from him, letting go of his paw in the process. "(Oh, I'm sorry!)" She covered her mouth with her paws. "(You don't want me doing that anymore, do you?)"

Pikachu blushed, something that she'd find quite intriguing if she wasn't so horrified. He then scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "(Oh, don't worry. As long as I get plenty of personal space, I don't mind the hugging every so often.)"

She jumped for joy, ecstatic from his answer, and tackled him again. "(Yay!)"

"(Aheh heh...)" He gently pushed her away, smiling. "(Hey, how about we go play tag or something with the others?)"

The fact that he'd pushed her away didn't bother her in the slightest. It never did; she knew that he secretly liked it anyway. "(Okay!)"

"(Alright, let's go then.)"

Buneary gleefully followed Pikachu over to where the other Pokemon were, happy beyond belief that her life was back to normal... and, from the looks of it, all of the humans and Pokemon were relieved at the sight of her bright smile. None of them looked anxious anymore and Buizel was no longer glaring at Pikachu. Yep, life was good!

**The End**


	3. Fright Night

Author's note: Hello again! It's been a while, eh? Well, the fic ideas are flowing thick and fast lately, so it's hard to know which fic to update. XD

Also, if any of you have any one-shot ideas, let me know and I'll consider them!

Yet again, I've stepped into unfamiliar territory with this one-shot, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Oh and bits of it are kind of graphic in detail. You have been warned.

Lastly... wow. This is the longest one-shot of the collection yet! XD I seriously didn't mean for it to be this long, but never mind. Lol.

* * *

**Fright Night**

After a while of travelling, Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu had come across an unusual sight. Directly in front of them was a festival, complete with stalls manned by Pokemon, jack-o-lanterns hanging from wires that trailed between trees and other various Pokemon buying food and playing games at the stalls. There were no humans anywhere to be found and a banner across the entrance read 'Pokemon Halloween Festival! No humans allowed!'

"What _is_ this place?" Dawn asked.

"It looks pretty cool," Ash said.

"I dunno," Brock replied, flipping through a guide book. "There's nothing in the guide book about it."

A woman in a purple top hat and tails suddenly appeared in front of them. "Welcome, welcome!" she said.

A man in a green top hat and tails appeared beside her. "This is the brand-spanking new Pokemon Halloween Festival!"

They both spoke at the same time. "No humans allowed!"

"_So_," the woman said, "are you three here to let loose your Pokemon, so they can enjoy some Halloween fun?"

Dawn walked forward and squinted at the pair. "Say..." she said, "you two wouldn't happen to be Team Rocket, would you?" she asked.

The pair blinked at her. "Who?" the man asked.

There was a sudden crashing noise behind them. Spinning around to look, the group spotted Jessie, James and Meowth in a crumpled heap at the base of a tree.

Jessie jumped to her feet, outraged. "You little twerp!" she yelled. "If you're gonna recognise us, at least get it right!"

James also jumped to his feet. "Yeah!" he added. "We work hard on those costumes!"

Meowth also jumped to his feet. "How dare you mistake dose cheap knockoffs for _us_!" he yelled.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out. "Get rid of 'em with Thunderbolt!"

"(Right!)" Pikachu replied with a nod before leaping off Ash's shoulder. Once he landed on the floor, he charged up his electricity. "(Thundeeeerboooolt!)"

The electricity shot from Pikachu's body straight into Team Rocket, who screamed in agony. Soon, there was an explosion and the trio went soaring through the sky.

"Hey!" Jessie yelled. "We didn't even _do_ anything yet!"

"Oh, how cruel the world is," James said.

"Well, you know what dey say..." Meowth said, "don't do de time if you can't do de crime."

All three spoke at the same time. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaain!"

Once Team Rocket had disappeared over the horizon, the gang turned back to the pair in tuxedos.

"I'm _so_ sorry about that!" Dawn said with a nervous smile. "I guess you're _not_ Team Rocket after all!"

"No worries, no worries!" the woman said with a wave of her hand. "I'll admit, we _did_ look pretty similar." She clapped her hands together. "_Now_, will you be letting your Pokemon have fun in the Halloween festival?"

Ash nodded. "You bet!" he said.

"Yeah," Brock agreed, "it'll be nice for them to have a little down time."

All three took out their Pokeballs and yelled "Come on out!" while throwing them into the air. After a short while, all of the Pokemon were standing in front of them.

"Now," the woman said, "it'll be three dollars per Pokemon."

"_Huh_?" Ash asked, shocked.

The man laughed. "Oh, come now," he said, "did you think it would be free?" The pair each held out a hand. "Three dollars each."

* * *

Pikachu was thoroughly enjoying himself at this festival. The stalls, the jack-o-lanterns... it was all so exciting and new. Not to mention, it was a Pokemon-only zone, which was a rare treat. He had to admit, as much as he loved Ash, it was nice to have a break from the guy every now and then.

Munching on his hot electric-type shish kebab, he walked over to a nearby stand and noticed that it was a shooting gallery. Buizel and Croagunk were currently competing to win a stick of cotton candy, so he watched them in amusement.

"(Give it up!)" Buizel said with a grin. "(That cotton candy's mine!)"

"(Right...)" Croagunk replied lazily. "(Sure...)"

Turning away, Pikachu walked further along the stalls, watching all his fellow Pokemon, as well as some Pokemon that he didn't know, playing games and ordering food. It really was a peaceful atmosphere.

Stopping near another stall, he noticed Buneary playing a hoop toss game where the prize was a large lollipop of the winner's choice. He watched her lose a few times, but she stubbornly refused to give up. By the time the hoop actually hooked onto something, Pikachu had already finished his shish kebab and thrown the stick into a trash can.

"(Hey, Pikachu!)" Buneary called out as she hopped over, a yellow lollipop in her paw.

Pikachu smiled at her. "(Hey, Buneary,)" he replied. "(Nice job with the hoop toss!)"

Buneary giggled. "(Thanks! I've been trying for _ages_ to win this thing.)" She held the lollipop out to him. "(Here you go!)"

He blinked at her. "(Huh? You're giving it to _me_?)"

"(Uh-huh! I know how much you like sour things and this lollipop is lemon-flavoured!)" She giggled quietly, staring at her foot as it shuffled on the floor. "(It also _reminded_ me of you, since it's yellow and all...)"

He took it from her, still amazed. "(Thanks, Buneary... but you _won_ this, right? I'd feel kinda bad eating it.)"

She covered her mouth with her paws and turned away with another giggle. "(You silly! I won it for _you_!)"

He was so flattered by this that he blushed. Then, embarrassed at his reaction, he scratched the back of his head. "(Aheh... well, gee, thanks. I-)" Suddenly, the ear-piercing scream of a Rattata filled the air, causing Pikachu to snap to attention. "(What the-?)"

Buneary pointed to a nearby building. "(It came from over there!)"

Pikachu frowned in determination. "(Let's go!)"

Putting the stick of the lollipop in his mouth, he ran on all fours with Buneary hopping beside him. Once he reached the building, he stopped as he noticed a Sandshrew standing outside the entrance with a cheerful smile on his face. This confused Pikachu, so he stood on two legs and took the lollipop from his mouth to ask the Sandshrew what was going on.

"(Ah, _hello_!)" the Sandshrew said. "(Are you here for the haunted house?)"

"(Haunted house?)" Buneary asked from next to Pikachu.

"(Yes. I can guarantee it's the scariest thing you'll ever see in your lifetime! Wait one moment, while my last customer leaves.)"

After a few moments, a Rattata emerged from the building, shaking and stumbling as he walked. "(Scary...)" he mumbled as he walked past the three Pokemon, not even noticing their presence. "(So... scary... Never... again...)"

The Sandshrew beamed. "(Thank you! Come again!)"

Pikachu stared after the Rattata, then turned to face the building, a sudden fire of curiosity burning up from within him. What could be in there that would scare the Rattata spitless like that? He just had to know. He also felt the need to prove that he could handle whatever it was that was so scary and that he wouldn't come out stuttering in terror, like the Rattata had.

Grinning in determination, he nodded. "(Alright, I'm in!)" he said.

"(_What_?)" Buneary asked in horror.

"(Fabulous!)" the Sandshrew replied. He waved a paw towards the entrance. "(Well, in you go!)"

"(Great!)" He looked at Buneary. "(Wanna come _with_ me, Buneary?)"

Buneary looked torn. She glanced up at the building, down at Pikachu, then over at the entrance. She gulped, fiddling her paws and shuffling her foot. "(Well...)" she replied.

"(Hey, you don't have to. You just wait here and I'll be out in a bit, okay?)" He turned away and walked towards the door. "(See you later!)"

After a few moments of walking, his feet stepped over the threshold and into the building. It was at this moment that he saw Buneary out the corner of his eye, frantically running to his side before slowing to a walk. He smiled, touched by her need to come with him.

* * *

Buneary really didn't want to be in this haunted house. She absolutely hated dark and creepy places like this. Why did Pikachu have to want to come in here? What point would it prove? Well, maybe that he was as strong and fearless as she already knew him to be... but he was being stupid. Who knows what the heck was hiding in the darkest depths of this building? Then again, _she _was just as stupid for following him in... but, if _he_ was going to do it, then _she_ would, too. She'd follow him anywhere. Plus, it might help show him that she could be just as strong as he was.

Pikachu stopped and pointed. "(Hey, Buneary,)" he said, "(check _that_ out!)"

Buneary didn't really want to look, as she was afraid of being scared spitless, but she forced herself to. What she saw was disgusting, but not really scary. Behind a human-sized glass window that stretched taller than Brock, she saw two statues, one a Vigoroth and one a Zangoose. The Vigoroth – a zombie with large gaping wounds all over its body and lifeless white eyes – was clawing out the flesh of the Zangoose, who was screaming in a mixture of fear and agony.

"(Eww...)" Buneary said, cringing. She hid behind Pikachu to get the vile image out of her line of sight. "(That's so disgusting.)"

"(Yeah,)" Pikachu replied. There was a sudden slurping sound. It took Buneary a moment to realise that he was licking his lollipop. "(Not scary, though, huh?)"

"(Well, no...)"

"(Come on.)" Pikachu walked on. Terrified of being left alone, Buneary make sure to follow closely behind. "(There must be _something_ scary in here.)"

Buneary whimpered and clung to Pikachu's back. "(Pikachu...)"

Pikachu stopped again. "(Oh, hey, look.)" There was a chomping sound as he bit into the lollipop and started chewing it. "(That's pretty cool.)"

Buneary looked and saw another glass window. Behind it were two more zombie statues, one of a Lucario and one of an Armaldo, both of which had lifeless white eyes and gaping wounds. The Lucario was holding a chainsaw that was covered in blood. The Armaldo was holding a battleaxe that was covered in blood and the two weapons were clashing together in a fierce battle.

Buneary did think it was interesting, but she still didn't like it. She shook her head in protest. "(Pikachu, can we get out of here soon?)"

"(Hmm?)" There was another slurp as Pikachu licked his lollipop. "(You wanna leave, Buneary)?"

She nodded. "(Uh-huh...)"

"(You're scared?)"

She didn't want to answer that question honestly, as she was trying to be strong, but she couldn't take much more creepy stuff. Plus, she was still worried about what that Rattata had screamed over earlier.

"(Uh-huh...)"

Pikachu gently turned around, pulling away from her so that he could face her. She looked up into his smiling face and automatically felt better. All light could disappear from the world, but the sun could still shine out of Pikachu's face.

He held out the lollipop. "(Here. Have some of this. It might cheer you up.)"

She blinked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. "(Huh? You're sure?)"

"(Of course! Go on, take a bite.)"

Suddenly excited about sharing a lollipop with Pikachu, she licked it. The thrill of tasting what _he'd_ tasted caused her to blush and giggle in happiness. She took a bite out of it, flinched briefly at the sourness, then munched on the tasty treat.

"(Mmm...)"

"(Good, isn't it?)" He took a bite and munched it. After a minute, he swallowed it. "(How's about we finish it together and head back out?)"

Buneary swallowed, then smiled. "(Okay!)" She took another bite. This continued for a while, until only the stick was left.

"(Alright, then, let's go.)"

"(Right behind you!)"

They began to make their way back where they came from and Buneary no longer felt scared. She had nothing to fear, anyway, since the only things in there were creepy statues, but being with Pikachu made her feel like nothing in the world could touch her.

"(Not so fast...)" the voice of a Lucario suddenly said.

Buneary froze, her heart pounding in terror, and noticed that Pikachu had stopped next to her. Unwilling to believe what she'd just heard, she turned slowly to look behind her, Pikachu doing the same. There, directly in front of them, was the Lucario with the chainsaw. It was no longer behind the glass window.

Instantly, the most repugnant smell hit her nostrils. It was a smell that she'd never encountered before, but she knew exactly what it was: the smell of a rotting corpse. Terror swept over her in waves.

"(W... What the heck?)" Pikachu cried. His tone of voice betrayed his fear, which only heightened Buneary's panic.

"(You shall not leave here alive...)"

Pikachu stepped in front of Buneary and held out the lollipop stick. "(Back off!)"

Suddenly, the Armaldo moved from where it was standing and slowly trudged towards the window. Every step it took pounded in Buneary's ears, until it phased through the glass to stand beside the Lucario. Again, the repugnant smell swept over her and the intense fear caused her the immediate desire to faint.

"(You will die tonight...)" the Armaldo said, raising its battleaxe above its head in a slow and sluggish movement.

_(They're gonna kill us!)_ Buneary thought, unable to get her breathing under control. _(The zombie statues are gonna kill us!)_

Pikachu threw his stick to one side and charged up some electricity. "(See how you like _this_, then!)" he yelled. "(Thundeeeerboooolt!)" The electricity shot towards the duo, but, before it could hit them, they disappeared. "(Wha-?)"

They reappeared right next to Buneary. Scared halfway to death, she screamed.

"(Die...)" the Lucario said, firing up the chainsaw.

Buneary couldn't take anymore. Wailing in fright, tears now streaking down her face, she hopped away as fast as she possibly could. She spared no thought for anything except her own life and fled deeper into the building.

* * *

Pikachu was terrified. He'd been trying to hide it, in order to stay strong for both himself and Buneary, but zombie statues coming to life and attacking him with chainsaws and battleaxes just wasn't normal. He'd been trying to get the situation under control, but his failure had led to Buneary running off. Unfortunately, she'd gone in the opposite direction of the entrance and he had no idea how big this place was.

"(Die...)" the Armaldo said, swinging the battleaxe at him.

Getting back to reality, he quickly rolled out of the way. The battleaxe crashed to the floor, right where he'd been a moment ago, and got stuck there. His heart pounding, he turned to face the Lucario. The smell from the two was overwhelming, but he fought to ignore it, in favour of staying alive.

The Lucario stared at him through blank eyes. "(You shall not live...)" it said.

Breathing deeply, to get his erratic breathing under control, Pikachu stared down the larger Pokemon. "(Wanna bet?)" he challenged.

The chainsaw swung in his direction, so he ducked and rolled under it. He was horrified to think that, if he'd been a second slower, he'd have lost his head.

"(You must die...)" the Armaldo said, as it pulled the battleaxe out of the floor.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rang out through the building. Pikachu's heart stopped as he recognised it. "(_Buneary_!)" he screamed.

Suddenly, his life meant a little bit less to him than it had before. All that he cared about in that moment was finding Buneary. Getting on all fours, he ran past the Armaldo, narrowly missing another swing from the battleaxe, and set off in a desperate search for her.

* * *

Buneary wanted nothing more than to leave, but she simply couldn't. With the Lucario and the Armaldo blocking the entrance and nowhere to hide in the building, she truly felt like she was going to die.

"(Ice Beam!)" she yelled, firing an ice-cold jet of frost at her attackers.

The zombie Vigoroth and Zangoose disappeared and the Ice Beam, instead, froze the floor where they'd been standing. Scared witless, since she knew where they were going to appear next, Buneary flung herself to one side. As predicted, they appeared right where she'd been moments ago.

"(You shall die...)" the Vigoroth said, flexing its razor sharp claws.

Buneary was at her wits' end. "(What do you _want_ from me?)" she screamed at them.

"(For you to die...)" the Zangoose replied.

Suddenly, it dashed forward, its claws outstretched and dripping with blood. Thinking quickly, Buneary used Bounce, catapulting herself over their heads and landing on her feet behind them. Taking this as her golden opportunity, she hopped away as fast as she could. Fresh tears continued to leak down her face, as her heart refused to stop racing.

_(Oh, Pikachu...)_ she thought, as the guilt weighed down her heart, (_why did I have to run off and leave you? I'm so sorry... What if I never...?)_ She choked on a sob, the thought too unbearable. (_What if I never see you again?)_ "(Pikachuuuu!)"

She hopped and hopped, hoping desperately to find her beloved yellow mouse, but she had no idea where she was. Trying to run away from the first set of zombie statues, she'd ended up going down several corridors and getting lost. To make matters worse, the Vigoroth and Zangoose from earlier had found her. How, she had no idea, since they should have been _closer_ to the entrance than the Lucario and Armaldo, not further away.

"(Buneary?)" a faint voice called out. Recognising the voice, she halted in her tracks, relieved beyond belief.

"(Pikachu!)" She hopped down the next corridor with a huge smile on her face, knowing that everything would be alright now. "(Pikachu!)"

She stopped dead, her blood running cold, as she saw him, directly in front of her. Flesh was falling from his body, blood pooling at his feet, and that awful smell of rotting corpses was radiating from him. Her heart jumped to her throat. He was one of _them_, now. Slowly, he turned his head towards her, revealing lifeless white eyes, and her emotions spilled from her in waves. Her body shook, as the reality of the situation hit her, and she no longer felt the will to live. She collapsed to her paws and knees.

* * *

Pikachu skidded to a stop, his breath catching painfully in his throat at what he saw in front of him. There Buneary stood, covered in gaping wounds, eyes as white and lifeless as the zombies that had come before her. A lump formed where the breath had caught. There was no way that this could have happened to Buneary. He wasn't able to believe it. He didn't _want_ to believe it. Cheerful, happy-go-lucky Buneary, become a rotting corpse, out to kill anyone who dared to venture into this haunted house?

"(Die, Pikachu...)" the Buneary said, opening its mouth and bearing a set of razor-sharp teeth.

Trying to stop his body from shaking, he gulped down the lump and readied a battle stance on his four legs. "(What... what have you done with Buneary?)" he asked.

The Buneary walked slowly towards him. "(I _am_ Buneary... and you will die tonight...)"

_(__**Why**__ has no one come to help us?)_ Pikachu wondered, as he watched the Buneary's every move. _(Someone __**always**__ comes to help us when we're in trouble. Where __**is**__ everybody?)_

"(I have succumbed to the darkness... and so shall you...)

Pikachu faltered. _(Buneary...)_ He quickly shook his head to rid himself of the thought. His aching heart believed that this was the Buneary he'd come to know and care about, but his head simply refused to believe that it was her.

"(Die...)"

The Buneary lunged at him, teeth bared and snarling. He dodged out of the way and used Iron Tail, but, yet again, the blasted thing disappeared. He dashed to one side, avoiding it as it reappeared.

"(Pikachu, my love... succumb to darkness... Join me...)"

That comment managed to strike a nerve inside Pikachu. His tears suddenly flowed freely from his eyes and he cried for his, possibly, lost friend. He knew that she had strong feelings for him – feelings that he still wasn't sure whether or not he returned – so, if this really _wasn't_ Buneary, that had been a really low blow.

* * *

Buneary watched helplessly from the floor as the Pikachu descended upon her, baring razor-sharp teeth. She had no strength left to fight, now. The only thing that she'd had left in this haunted house had become a zombie. As she thought about Dawn, Ash, Brock and all the other Pokemon, she tried to summon up more strength, but it was useless. The Pokemon that she loved was a walking corpse.

Pikachu. He'd always been so brave and strong. Nothing could stand in his way, once he put his mind to it. He could do anything. She gave a slight smile as she thought about him, then paused. Glancing up at the zombie Pikachu, a thought suddenly struck her from nowhere.

_(He's still alive...)_ she thought, _(he __**has**__ to be!)_

Forcing strength back into her legs with this new revelation, she hopped to the side and rolled away.

"(What?)" the Pikachu asked.

Buneary snarled at it, very angry and offended by how it had used her love for Pikachu against her. "(Slime!) she yelled. "(As if Pikachu could be _killed_ by you creatures! He's better than that! He's stronger! And faster! He'd never let you kill him! Ice Beam!)"

She fired off another blast of chilled air, which froze the floor when the Pikachu disappeared. She wasn't through, however. She continued to fire the Ice Beam all around the room, freezing everything around her, in a mad attempt to catch it. When it reappeared, it screamed in pain as the Ice Beam hit it.

The strange occurrence stunned Buneary for a moment, but she took the opportunity to hop as fast as she could, past the twitching Pikachu and down some more corridors. Eventually, she saw the _real_ Pikachu, but he wasn't alone. She stopped hopping and watched in a mixture of horror and disbelief as a zombie Buneary descended upon him. He was crying and shaking.

Fury enveloped her. How dare they pull the same trick on _him_, too. "(Hey!)" she yelled.

Both Pokemon turned towards her. Pikachu's eyes lit up in amazement. "(Buneary?)" he asked.

Buneary used Bounce and, as she began to fall towards the zombie Buneary, she extended her foot. "(Leave him alone!)"

The Buneary disappeared and Buneary landed on the floor. She quickly shoved Pikachu away and both rolled to a stop, just as the Buneary reappeared.

"(You're alive...)"

She looked down at Pikachu and saw a mixture of affection and relief in his eyes. Her heart swelled, both at seeing that and at seeing _him_ again.

She smiled back. "(Of course I am. You didn't think they'd kill me _that_ easily, did you?)"

Pikachu chuckled somewhat nervously, then sobered up with a frown as he watched the zombie Buneary. He climbed to his two feet and Buneary did the same. Buneary, though, heard a noise behind her. Spinning around, she caught sight of the Vigoroth and Zangoose. Turning elsewhere, she saw the Lucario, Armaldo and zombie Pikachu. Her heart pounded in fright at the sight of them all in one place at once.

Pikachu manoeuvred, so that they were back to back. "(Okay, looks like we're surrounded.)" He paused. "(We're in this together... If we go down, we go down fighting.)"

As morbid as that sounded, Buneary agreed. No way was she allowing these things to take away either _her_ life or _Pikachu's_. She would fight them with everything she had and more.

The zombies all slowly moved forward, until they formed a perfect circle around them. Buneary tensed, expecting a battle of epic proportions any minute now. She expected them all to strike at once, leaving little room for error. She tried to control her shaking. She was in this with Pikachu. It was do or die.

The zombies all stared intensely at them through their lifeless white eyes. Suddenly, they all started laughing. Buneary was perplexed.

A huge cloud of purple smoke erupted from the floorboards. Buneary coughed and hacked, as it got into her eyes, nose and throat, and Pikachu sounded like he was doing the same. When the cloud finally cleared, Buneary looked up and was completely floored at the sight that was before her.

Glancing around at what was once a circle of living zombie statues, she now saw a circle of ghost-type Pokemon, all grinning mischievously at her and Pikachu. Forming the circle was a Haunter, a Gengar, a Mismagius, a Duskull, a Shuppet and a Banette.

"(What the-?)"

The Gengar laughed. "(We really scared you two, didn't we?)" he asked.

The Banette chuckled. "(Sure did!)" he replied for them. "(We run the world's best Pokemon-only haunted house!)"

The Mismagius nodded. "(We hope you enjoyed yourselves,)" she said.

Buneary, still traumatised from the night's events, couldn't speak for shock. Pikachu apparently couldn't, either, because he, too, remained silent.

"(You were probably wondering why no one heard you scream,)" the Duskull said. He chuckled. "(It's because the walls are sound-proof. Outsiders can only hear you scream if you're right near the door.)"

The Haunter cackled. "(Besides,) he said, "(it's not like you two were ever in any _real_ danger.)"

"(Wasn't that fun?)" the Shuppet asked. She giggled. "(Come again!)"

* * *

Pikachu walked slowly out of the haunted house with Buneary, still too shocked to really speak. It seemed that Buneary was just as traumatised, because she was also keeping quiet. Soon, they reached the front door and, walking out of it and into the darkening landscape, they saw the Sandshrew, with his bright smile.

"(Thank you!)" he said cheerfully, as they walked past him. "(Come again!)"

They continued walking for a short while, before Pikachu turned to Buneary. "(Buneary?)" he asked.

Buneary looked back at him. "(Yeah, Pikachu?)" she replied.

"(I think I've had enough of this festival, now... I wanna go back to Ash.)"

"(Yeah, me too... I wanna get back to my Pokeball and rest.)"

"(Alright, let's go.)"

Reaching a mutual agreement, the two of them left the festival grounds, and all other Pokemon in them, and headed towards the area that Ash, Dawn and Brock had said they would be. Pikachu figured they'd had enough Halloween 'fun' to last them a lifetime.

**The End**


	4. Girl Troubles

Author's notes: Hi again! Not much to say this time, except 'keep those ideas flowing!' I'm not saying that I'll definitely use them all, but, if an interesting idea strikes me from someone's suggestion, I'll probably write it.

* * *

**Girl Troubles**

It was a fairly warm evening in Sinnoh, with the clouds just beginning to darken the sky. Since Ash had recently won another gym badge, he was currently sitting on the grass and shining it with a pink handkerchief, while Dawn brushed Buneary's fur and Brock prepared their food. Pikachu was standing proudly beside Ash, having been the main Pokemon to help him win the badge.

Once Dawn was finished brushing Buneary, the rabbit Pokemon hopped over to Pikachu, still completely smitten over well he'd done in the last gym match.

"(Hey, Pikachu,)" she said.

Pikachu smiled at her. "(Hey, Buneary,)" he replied.

Buneary blushed at the adorable smile and started giggling madly. "(You were amazing in that gym battle.)"

Pikachu chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "(Yeah? Thanks! I did try my best out there.)"

"(You're so strong and manly...)" Unable to control the urge any longer, she hugged him. "(You're the coolest!)"

"(Um... thanks.)"

He gently pushed her away, which was slightly disheartening for her. When she looked at his face, however, she could see, with delight, that he was blushing rather hard. She giggled.

* * *

A while later, Pikachu was eating his electric-type pellets, with Buneary sitting next to him and eating her normal-type pellets, and everything was going rather smoothly. The various conversations that the two of them were having were rather interesting and, every so often, Buneary would give him a rather large compliment that always left his heart racing awkwardly. He'd never understand why she liked him so much, but he couldn't say that he didn't like the attention. It was really flattering. He felt oddly special whenever she came to sit next to _him_, specifically.

"Give that back!" Ash suddenly yelled. Pikachu snapped to attention and watched his trainer, curious to see what had made him angry.

Dawn giggled, holding the pink handkerchief away from Ash. "_Oh_," she said, "a bit protective of this, are we?"

Ash leapt towards her, across the table. "Give it!"

Dawn jumped to her feet just in time, laughing hysterically. "Lemme guess, Ash... _this_ is from your friend, Misty, _too_?"

Ash pushed himself off the table and dashed around it. "Dawn!"

Dawn ran away from the table, waving the handkerchief like a matador goading a Tauros. "First, the lure and, now, the handkerchief! She must really mean a lot to you!"

Ash made wild grabs for the handkerchief, which Dawn dodged. "Shut up and give it back!"

Brock sighed with a tired smile. "Come on, you guys..." he said.

"Well, tell her to give it back!"

Dawn playfully stuck out her tongue. "Nyeh!" she said.

Pikachu smiled in exasperation. Why Ash had to get so protective over the little things that Misty had given him a long time ago, he'd never know. Next to him, Buneary giggled in amusement.

Suddenly, he felt something clamp around his waist and drag him backwards, into the bushes. He screamed in shock and slight terror. Before he knew it, he was trapped inside the accursed shock-proof glass cage and floating high into the air, in the all-too-familiar Meowth hot air balloon. Team Rocket cackled their usual victory laugh.

"Listen," Jessie said, "is that a voice I hear?"

"It's speaking to me, loud and clear," James said.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In yar ear!" Meowth added.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!" Jessie said.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!" James said.

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet!"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Jessie!"

"And it's James!"

"Meowth," Meowth said, "now _dat's_ a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place!" Jessie said.

"We're Team Rocket!" James said.

"And we're in your face!" all three said at once.

Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and saluted. "(Thaaaat's right!) he said.

Mime Jr. also popped out of his Pokeball. "(Sure is!)" he added.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out angrily.

"(Pikachu!)" Buneary called out in worry.

Jessie laughed. "Give it up, twerp!" she said. "Pikachu is _ours_, now!"

"Dat's right!" Meowth added. "And he's goin' straight to de boss!"

"In exchange for huge promotions!" James added.

"We'll see about that!" Ash yelled. "Torterra, use Energy Ball!"

"(Energyyyy...)" Torterra said, as the green ball of energy formed in front of his mouth.

Pikachu watched in horrified fascination as Buneary began to power up her own attack at the same time, with no instruction from Dawn to do so.

"(Ice Beeeeam!)" she called out, launching the attack into the air and freezing the balloon in a block of ice.

"Buneary, _what_-?" Dawn asked, but she wasn't able to finish.

"(Baaaall?)" Torterra called out in surprise, as he launched the Energy Ball.

Now slightly off-course, the attack flew much lower down than it was supposed to. The moment it hit the section of ice nearest to Team Rocket, it exploded on impact. As Pikachu was blasted out of his cage and hurtled through the air, he could just make out his friends down below, shrieking and covering their faces from a shower of icicles.

"Looks like we're blastin'-!" Meowth's voice said. "Huh?"

Pikachu looked to the side of him and saw that he was flying alongside a stunned-looking Meowth. Looking the other way, he saw Jessie, James, Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. flying in the opposite direction.

He groaned. "(Great...)" he said, "(just what I need...)"

* * *

It took Pikachu a few moments to regain consciousness after his landing. Once he woke up, he tried to get to his feet, only for the ground beneath him – which, he soon realised, was a tree branch – to give way and cause him to fall. He screamed, noting vaguely that someone else was also screaming, before hitting the floor rather painfully.

"(Owwww...)" he said, cringing.

"Ugh..." Meowth said from next to him, "landin's never get any easier, dat's for sure..."

Pikachu slowly pushed himself to his feet and glanced around him. All he saw were trees and bushes in every direction, so he didn't have the faintest clue where he was.

"(Where are we?)"

"How am _I_ supposed ta know where we are?"

Pikachu looked over at Meowth, to see the scratch cat Pokemon sitting up and scowling at him. He scowled back. "(Well, _you_ know blasting off better than _anybody_, so I figured you'd know.)"

"Hey. Just 'cause Team Rocket's used ta blastin' off, it don't mean we always know where we land!"

Pikachu looked away again. "(Ugh. Fine.)"

After a few moments, Meowth walked over to stand next to him. "Well, I guess I better go look for Jessie and James. Dey're gonna be worrying demselves sick if I'm away for too long."

"(Yeah and I need to find Ash, Dawn and Brock.)"

"Well, den!" Meowth strolled past him, a bright smile on his face. "Let's go!"

Pikachu lowered his eyelids distrustingly. "(How do I know you won't try to pull a fast one on me?)"

Meowth stopped and turned to give him a puzzled expression. "Pull a fast one on ya? Come on! I can't do _squat_ ta ya widout Jessie and James!" He shrugged. "_You_ know as well as _I_ do dat _dey're_ de ones who oin de Team Rocket dough. When de boss pays 'em, dey can afford parts ta build machines ta capture ya wid. _I_ don't oin no money... _or_ have any o' de _stuff_ on me... so dere's no way I can capture ya."

Pikachu blinked his eyelids back open, realising that he was right. "(Yeah, I guess so.)"

Meowth smiled again. "Exactly! So, let's go!" He turned around and started walking.

Pikachu also started walking, soon catching up to his Team Rocket nemesis and walking alongside him. After a few moments, a thought occurred to him. "(If Jessie and James find us first, you're still gonna capture me, though, right?)"

Meowth laughed. "O' course! If Jessie and James find us foist, ya'll be back in dat cage and shipped straight to de boss!"

Pikachu lowered his eyelids again. "(Figures.)"

* * *

After a couple of hours of pointless wandering, it had gotten too dark for Meowth and Pikachu to continue, so the two of them were currently setting up camp for the night. Pikachu, who was lining up a circle of rocks, hoped that Ash would find him in the morning.

Soon enough, Meowth returned with a pile of firewood, which he threw into the circle of rocks. "Okay," he said, "now, we need ta light fire ta dese babies..." He sighed, got on his knees, picked up two sticks and started rubbing them together.

Pikachu sighed and scratched his head at the cat's stupidity. "(Meowth...)" he said.

"Don't bodder me _now_, Pikachu!" He rubbed the sticks faster. "I'm tryin' ta light a fire!"

Pikachu watched his fruitless attempts for a few moments longer, before deciding to save him the trouble. He charged up a tiny amount of electricity in his cheeks. "(Thunder... shock.)" A small spark flew over to the firewood and instantly set it on fire. Meowth jumped backwards with a yelp. Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.

Meowth didn't look amused. "Heh. Neat little trick ya got dere, Pikachu. A shame ya didn't use it sooner!"

Pikachu smiled mockingly. "(Well, you looked like you were having so much fun, I didn't know whether to intervene or not!)"

"I was _not_ havin' fun and you know it!"

Pikachu stuck out his tongue. "(Heh.)"

Meowth sighed again. "Let's just get dis fire stoked, okay?"

* * *

Eventually, the fire was rising high enough to keep the two Pokemon both well-lit and warm. Pikachu thought it was a bit of a shame to have to spend the night with Meowth, instead of Ash, but he'd done it before, so there was little harm in doing it again for one night.

After a while of warming himself up in silence, his thoughts drifted back to Buneary and her strange behaviour earlier. She was the main reason that he was here, now, stuck in the woods overnight with Meowth. He couldn't help but ponder her motives.

"(Why did she do that?)" he asked himself.

"Hmm?" Meowth asked from across the fire. "Why did _who_ do _what_?"

"(Buneary. Why did she fire that Ice Beam, when Dawn didn't even tell her to?)"

"Why did Buneary fire dat Ice Beam?" Meowth paused, then laughed. "Ain't it obvious?"

"(Not really.)"

Meowth shook his head with a smirk. "Jeez..." He stopped shaking his head. "It's 'cause she really likes ya, Pikachu! She probably got so worried about ya bein' stolen that she wanted to save ya herself."

"(But Dawn didn't _tell_ her to use Ice Beam...)"

"So, de twoipette didn't tell her to. So what? Love can make a Pokemon do crazy tings, ya know!"

Pikachu blushed slightly at the thought of Buneary loving him, but ignored it. "(She still shouldn't have done it, though. It's a Pokemon's job to listen to their trainer, after all.)"

Meowth waved a paw in dismissal. "Eh, you and yar law abidin'! Just because ya got a trainer, it don't mean ya need to wait for deir approval ta use moves."

Pikachu sighed, realising that he wasn't getting anywhere with this conversation, and decided to drop it. It wasn't like Meowth would understand, anyway, being the freelance Pokemon that he was. "(You and your law breaking...)"

There were another few minutes of silence. "So... have you _gotten_ anywhere wid Buneary yet?"

Pikachu's head snapped up in surprise. "(Huh?)"

Meowth smirked at him. "That goil's completely _crazy_ over ya. I'da tought ya'da _gotten_ somewhere wid her by now."

Pikachu blushed again. "(Uh... no.)"

Meowth laughed. "No?" He stopped laughing. "Well, I suppose not. I'da noticed if ya _had_, since I follow ya around all de time."

"(It's not _like_ that! I mean... I know she likes me, but... I dunno if I'm _ready_ for a mate yet. I wanna... enjoy my travels and battles, you know? I'm still young and all...)"

Meowth stared at him for a long moment, blinking once, twice, three times, before bursting out laughing. The laughter got so out of control that he fell over, clutching his stomach.

"Ya wanna... enjoy... battles! Ya're not... ready!"

Pikachu felt a stab of annoyance, as the laughter continued. "(What?)" Meowth was too busy laughing to reply.

Eventually, when the scratch cat Pokemon calmed down, he sat up, rubbing his eyes dry. "_Man_... ya're more like de twoip dan I tought!" He cackled. "And _dat_ guy wouldn't know love if it danced da conga _naked_ in _front_ of him! Heck, he'd probably challenge it to a battle!" He continued laughing.

Pikachu grew more annoyed. Not only was he laughing at _him_, but he was also laughing at his _trainer_, now, too. "(Hey, don't insult Ash!)"

Meowth calmed down again. "Awright, awright. No need ta get yar tail in a twist."

Pikachu folded his arms indignantly. "(What makes _you_ the expert on love, anyway?)"

Meowth smirked again. "What makes _me_ de expoit? I like ta tink dat me, Jessie and James know what's what, when it comes ta love. See, de tree of us have a sixth sense in de business of romance."

"(Uh huh...)"

Meowth's smirk suddenly melted into a sad smile. "Besides... I've had my share of love in de past."

The change was so shocking that Pikachu couldn't help feel sorry for him. "(Meowth...)"

In an instant, Meowth shook it off and went back to smirking. "Anyway... I really tink ya should snatch up Buneary while ya got de chance. I mean, she practically trows herself at yar feet and ya're doin' nottin' about it!"

Pikachu's temper flared again in defiance. He flung his arms out of their folded position and clenched his fists. "(Hey, I already told you! I don't think I'm ready for that yet!)"

Meowth shrugged. "Den I guess ya don't mind losin' her ta some _odder_ Pokemon, huh?"

Pikachu paused, unclenching his fists, as he thought about this. How would he feel if Buneary fell for someone else? And how would he feel if that 'someone else' liked her back and became her mate? He wasn't sure, but something inside him resented the idea, ever so slightly.

He shook it off. "(Anyway, who says I have to act _now_? If I'm not ready, it wouldn't be right to string her along.)"

Meowth sighed with a smile. "Pikachu, it ain't stringin' her along. If ya want _my_ poisonal opinion, she desoives ta be given a chance. Heck, if it were _Meowth_ she was fawnin' over, I'd have made her my mate a _long_ time ago."

Pikachu grew angry at this remark. If Meowth thought he was taking his admirer away, he had another thing coming. "(Don't even go there!)"

Meowth chuckled. "Cool yar britches. I ain't interested in Buneary and _she_ ain't interested in _me_. _You're_ de one she has a major crush on."

Pikachu blushed and looked away in embarrassment. "(Right...)"

"I'm tellin' de truth when I say dat, dough. I've had plenty o' crushes in de past, but none of dem have ever felt the same way about Meowth."

Pikachu looked back at Meowth, intrigued at the sudden depth of the conversation. Meowth had never before mentioned anything about his previous crushes, so Pikachu had just assumed that he'd gotten over them.

"(Meowth?)"

Meowth stared down, into the fire. "Foist, dere was Meowzie. I woiked my tail off, tryin' ta please her, but, in de end, she considered me a freak... and chose a Poisian over Meowth. Den, dere was dat human goil, Cassandra... who _also_ ended up choosin' a Poisian over me... I swear, de more I encounter dose tings, de less I wanna evolve into one."

Pikachu's ears drooped in pity. "(Oh...)"

"Next was de Hoenn twoipette's Skitty. I made de effort to keep her safe from Team Rocket, but I guess she was too dense to understand love. De odder Skitty I met _might_ have been interested... but I'll never know, 'cause 'o dat accoised Azurill... and de Glameow never liked me, even dough I tried ta take her away, ta live a happier life wid _me_. She was more interested in her trainer." He looked up at Pikachu, his expression sad. "I'da given anyting for even _one_ o' dose goils to love me de way Buneary loves _you_... so you should tink yarself lucky... and snatch, while de snatchin's good." He yawned, then lay down on his side. "Well, I'm tired now, so I'm goin' ta bed. Night, Pikachu."

"(Night...)"

As Meowth lay by the fire, slowly drifting off to sleep, Pikachu looked up at the starry sky, puzzling over Buneary. He knew very well – thanks to Brock, Dawn and May all pointing it out and the rabbit being none-too-subtle about it – that she harboured strong feelings for him, but he'd never given it any serious thought before. _Would_ things be better if he gave her a chance? Meowth's theory did hold some water, but he truly wasn't ready for that kind of thing. Maybe he _did_ spend a bit too much time around Ash. He could admit that his trainer was rather dense, when it came to love. He liked to think that _he_ was more intelligent in that area, but the guy's naiveté and inexperience had, likely, rubbed off on him. He sighed.

Staring up at the few clouds that now dotted the sky, he noticed that one of them looked a lot like the fluffy fur around Buneary's waist. He smiled fondly at it, thinking to himself that she was, in fact, a very cute, charming, oddly amusing and all-around fun Pokemon to be around. The moment that he felt his heart skip a beat, he realised that he was thinking about it too much. Shaking it off, he lay down and closed his eyes.

* * *

The next day, Meowth and Pikachu had put out the fire and were, once again, trekking through the woods. Conversation was sparse, which Pikachu guessed had to do with their talk the previous night. He certainly had no complaints about that, though, as he didn't particularly want to breach the subject again.

"(Pikachu!)" a Staraptor's voice called out.

"(Huh?)" Pikachu asked, looking up at the sky. Directly above him were Ash's Staraptor and Dawn's Togekiss. The sight was a welcome relief to him. He grinned widely and waved his arms. "(Hey, Staraptor! Hey, Togekiss!)"

"Well, if it ain't yar Pokepals," Meowth said.

"(Hey, Pikachu!) Staraptor replied.

"(It's good to know you're safe!)" Togekiss said.

Staraptor glanced behind him. "(Ash! He's over here!)"

"Pikachu!" Ash's voice called out.

"(Ash!)" Pikachu replied, lowering his arms and looking away from the flying-types.

"Meowth, are _you_ there, too?" James' voice called out.

"Answer us, right this instant!" Jessie's worried voice called out.

"Jessie! James!" Meowth replied in delight.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out, as he came into view, running towards Pikachu with a happy smile on his face.

"(Ash!)" Pikachu called back, running towards his trainer on all fours. Once he was close enough, he leapt into Ash's arms and received a huge hug.

"Good to see you again, buddy!"

"(You, too!)"

Dawn, Brock, Jessie, James and the rest of the Pokemon followed soon after. Jessie and James immediately bent down and hugged Meowth.

"You big lug!" Jessie said.

"You should learn to stop blasting off _without_ us!" James added.

Meowth chuckled. "I'll keep dat in mind!" he replied.

Eventually, Ash put Pikachu back on the ground, where he was immediately tackled in a hug by Buneary.

"(Oh, Pikachu!)" she cried. "(I was so worried!)" She pulled away and looked him over. "(Did anything happen? Are you hurt? Tell me you're okay!)"

Pikachu blushed, suddenly realising that he'd done that an awful lot in the last two days. He smiled awkwardly, as his heart raced inside his ribcage from her touch. "(I'm fine, Buneary,)" he replied. "(Don't worry, okay?)"

"(Are you sure?)"

He nodded. "(Yeah.)"

She beamed at him, blushing herself, and he couldn't help notice how adorable she looked like that. "(Okay.)"

Soon after, Jessie and James agreed to leave Ash, Dawn and Brock alone for the rest of the day, partly to recover from their recent losses and partly to come up with a new plan of action. As Pikachu walked away, Buneary by his side, he cast one last glance at Meowth. To his embarrassment, the scratch cat Pokemon, who was walking in the opposite direction, was smirking back at him. Pikachu quickly looked away again.

**The End**


	5. Come Dancing

Author's note: Hello again, fellow lagomorphshippers! (watches the crowd cheer) What do we love? "PIKA/BUN!" Why do we love it? "COZ IT'S ADORABLE!"

Ahem... anyway! This one-shot was based off something. Telling you what it is will give away the mystery, however, but most of you should know it when you come to it. Lol.

The title is inspired by Strictly Come Dancing. Do you know that show? It's a ballroom dancing competition. :)

Also... this was meant to be out a LOT sooner, but laptops breaking down meant that I lost the first half to the archives. XP I finally got it back and finished it, after so long!

* * *

**Come Dancing**

After a long morning and afternoon of travelling through the land of Sinnoh, Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu happened upon what they'd assumed would be a forest clearing. In their line of vision, however, was a huge and beautifully-kept mansion. The four of them stared at it in awe for a few moments.

"Wow..." Dawn said.

"What's a mansion doing in the middle of a forest?" Ash asked.

Brock pulled out his guide book and flipped through it. Stopping on a particular page, he read it. "Hmm..." he said, "I'm guessing this is what the locals call Heaven Manor."

"Heaven Manor?" Dawn asked, as she, Ash and Pikachu looked at Brock.

"It's a mansion that belongs to a nice old lady, who allows trainers and Pokemon a rest stop... _and_ a place to play, on their travels."

Ash grinned. "Sounds great!" he said. He looked at Pikachu, who was on his shoulder. "What do you say we pay the old lady a visit, buddy?"

Pikachu smiled and nodded. "(Sure!)" he replied.

Dawn clapped her hands together, beaming. "Yeah, let's go!" she said.

* * *

"So nice to see some new faces around here," the old woman said at the front door, as she leaned on a walking stick and crinkled her face into a smile.

"We heard you rent out your mansion as a rest stop?" Brock asked politely.

The woman nodded. "Indeed I do. Feel free to stay as long as you like. All company is welcome." She turned around and hobbled inside. "Do come in."

Ash, Dawn and Brock followed her inside, Brock being the one to close the door behind them, and the three humans and one Pokemon gazed around the gigantic and lavish room in amazement.

"It's so beautiful..." Dawn said.

"Why, thank you, dearie. My name is Mary, by the way."

All four looked at her and began their introductions. "I'm Ash," Ash said.

"I'm Dawn," Dawn said.

"And I'm Brock," Brock said.

"(I'm Pikachu!)" Pikachu said.

"What lovely names," Mary replied. "Perhaps the three of you would like to call out your Pokemon? They're allowed to play anywhere in the mansion they want. There's also a pool out back, if you want to go for a swim or a sunbathe."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh, wow!" Dawn cried. "We can go swimming?"

"_I'm_ up for some sunbathing!" Brock said.

"One last thing, though," Mary said. "If you have any _large_ Pokemon, could I ask that you let them out in the garden? I'm terribly afraid they might break something."

"Sure," Ash replied, "no problem."

* * *

Pikachu was finding that he really loved Heaven Manor. He'd explored as many of the different rooms as possible, mostly through playing hide-and-seek with the other Pokemon, and was currently in the room that he found he liked the best. It was the mansion playroom, which consisted of many stuffed Pokemon, action figures, cars and dollhouses, but his favourite part was the fireman pole that dropped down from a hole in the floor above.

He slid down the pole, giggling happily. "(What I wouldn't give for a fireman pole in every Pokemon Centre!)" he said.

"(Pikachu!)" Buneary's voice called out.

He turned to look at her, as he moved away from the bottom of the pole. "(Oh, hey, Buneary. Having a good time?)"

Buneary nodded with a smile. "(Yeah!)" she replied. She suddenly looked anxious. "(Although, I just found out this place has a basement.)"

This perked Pikachu's interest, as he hadn't noticed such a room. "(A basement?)"

"(Yeah... I wanna have a look, but it's really dark and dusty down there. Not a very nice room...)"

As a born adventurer, his pulse raced in excitement. He was very eager to explore that basement now. "(Cool! I'm gonna go check it out!)"

Buneary looked alarmed. "(Check it out?)"

"(Yup. Wanna come _with_ me?)"

Buneary paused a moment, looking unsure, but nodded. "(Okay... but only if you'll let me stick close to you.)"

Pikachu beamed. "(Sure thing.)"

* * *

Buneary felt a growing fear gnawing at her heart, as she led Pikachu down the stairs and towards the basement door. The fear intensified when Pikachu pushed the door open and revealed the same pitch blackness as before. She could understand his curiosity, but she honestly thought that some places were best left unexplored. She assumed that the other Pokemon in the house – even the ones that didn't belong to Ash, Dawn and Brock – also seemed to think so, as she'd noticed them avoiding this place like the plague.

Possibly noticing her hesitance, Pikachu stepped in front of her and began to descend the stairs. Unable to allow him to go alone, she followed. Her sensitive nose could smell dust thick in the air, as though the room hadn't been cleaned in a decade. This was surprising, since the rest of the house was completely spotless. She was beginning to regret asking Croagunk to open the door for her earlier.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Pikachu peered around. "(Hey...)" he said, "(I think I see something.)"

He walked off to one side, so she followed him. The two of them stopped in front of a large box that was coated in dust. Pikachu brushed some of it off the front with his paw, then sneezed.

"(Gesundheit,)" Buneary said.

Pikachu sniffled. "(Thanks. Hey, check it out!)"

Looking at the box, Buneary noticed large colourful letters in the spot that he'd wiped clean that spelled out 'Toybox'. "(A toybox? Down _here_?)" She paused. "(Why isn't it upstairs, with the _rest_ of the toys?)" She looked at Pikachu and saw a sparkle in his eyes.

"('Why?', indeed.)" Standing on his tiptoes, he attempted to push off the lid, and, after considerable effort, finally managed it. Grabbing the edge of the box, he hefted himself up into it, then began rooting around. "(Huh...)"

Buneary watched as he flung several broken toys onto the dusty floor, away from where she was standing. There were action figures that were missing limbs, stuffed Pokemon that had giant holes in them – where the stuffing was falling out – small cars that were either missing wheels or bent in half and dolls that were naked and headless. A lot of the stuff also bore various Pokemon teeth marks.

"(Pikachu?)"

"(Man, everything's broken. There's gotta be _something_ in here worth playing with.)" He paused, then smirked. "(Guess I gotta go for a dive, huh, Buneary?)"

Her eyes widened. "(A dive?)"

Without warning, Pikachu lunged at the pile of toys, throwing them haphazardly in every direction, as he burrowed like a Diglett. She yelped and dodged whenever one flew near her. Eventually, he stopped.

"(Hey! I found something cool!)"

With a slight struggle, he pulled himself back out of the remaining toys and leapt back onto the floor. With a grin, he held something up for her to look at.

It was a metal ball – about the size of a bowls ball, which she knew some humans liked to roll along grass – that was covered in flat circles that she assumed to be buttons.

"(What is it?)"

"(I've no idea.)"

"(Huh...)" Curious, she pressed one of the buttons. It turned out to be quite stiff, so she pressed harder. There was an audible click, but nothing seemed to happen. "(What a weird toy.)"

Pikachu looked puzzled. "(Huh... well, I guess the batteries are dead...)" He suddenly brightened. "(But, maybe, we can still use it as a kickball, or something!)"

She blinked at him. "(Are you crazy? We'd hurt our feet, kicking that thing.)"

He lifted it up and down, examining it. "(Hmm... I guess you're right. It's not very heavy, but it _is_ made out of metal...)" He brightened up again. "(Let's take it upstairs _anyway_. Maybe we could play catch with it.)"

He really seemed to like the thing, whatever it was, so she couldn't bring herself to object. Instead, she smiled. "(Okay.)"

* * *

"(Hey! Guys!)" Pikachu called out, as he entered the playroom. Every head, whether they belonged to Ash, Dawn and Brock's Pokemon or not, turned in his direction. He proudly lifted his prize up for them to see. "(Check out what me and Buneary found!)" Several Pokemon wandered over to have a look.

"(Ooh, what is it?)" a female Bellossom asked.

"(Looks kinda cool,)" Piplup said.

"(Is it heavy?)" Pachirisu asked excitedly. "(Can I hold it? Ooh, it has buttons!)"

"(What does it do?)" Buizel asked.

"(I've no idea,)" Pikachu replied. "(I think the batteries are dead... but who wants to play catch with it?)"

"(Me!)" a chorus of Pokemon called out.

"(... Basement?)" Croagunk asked.

"(Huh?)" Buneary replied.

"(You find that in the basement?)"

"(Oh! Yeah.)"

"(Ah.)"

"(Alright, then...)" Pikachu said, backing up, "(go long!)"

The other Pokemon scattered around the room. He tossed it to a female Meditite, who caught it easily. "(Whoa,)" she said. "(Kinda heavy, isn't it?)"

"(Yeah, a bit.)"

"(Not very good for catch... but what the heck.)" She tossed it. "(Buizel, think fast!)"

Buizel leapt and caught it. "(Heh,)" he said. "(Easy.)" He tossed it. "(Pachirisu!)"

Pachirisu jumped to catch it, but it was a little too heavy for him. He fell to the ground in a heap, laughing. "(Wow, it _is_ heavy!)" He stared at the metal ball on his chest. "(Ooh, what's _this_ button do?)" He pushed one of the buttons, then scowled. "(This thing's stiff!)" He pressed it harder and an audible click was heard. All the buttons on the ball suddenly glowed yellow. "(Ooh...)"

"(Weird...)" Pikachu said, "(I could've sworn-)" He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a familiar polka tune ring out around the room. "(Oh no...)"

"(Cute tune,)" Buneary said.

With horror, Pikachu saw every head in the room bob in time to the music. Soon enough, he found himself doing the same. The memory of what was happening caused his blood to turn to ice. Worse still, no one in that room had been with him that time, so they had no idea what was coming.

"(Quick!)" He grabbed Buneary's paw. "(We've gotta get out of here!)"

He moved to run towards the door, but the music picked up, stopping him in his tracks. His face pulled itself into a grin, his paw released itself from Buneary's and his body danced around the room, along with everyone else's. He couldn't believe this was happening again.

"(Wh-What's... going on?)" Buizel asked with a huge grin on its face.

Pikachu stepped from side to side, spun around and continued to step along to the accursed polka tune. His body refused to do otherwise, despite how hard he tried to fight it. The annoying thing, though, was that a small part of him actually enjoyed the fun exercise. The rest of him was screaming in protest.

"(Pikachu, what's... happening?)" Buneary yelped, dancing beside him in perfect synchrony to his movements.

"(Why... can't I stop... dancing?)" Piplup cried, his emotions contrasting with the grin on his face.

Every single Pokemon did an ocean wave with their arms before starting to hop around. Pikachu had never been able to explain this situation to Ash. He'd wanted to forget it and put it behind him, actually, but it was also pretty difficult to explain the feeling of being forced to dance and smile for as long as a song played in the background.

"(We need...)" He pointed his finger and moved it around the room. "(To...)" He switched hands and did the same thing the other way. (Turn that...)" He started hopping around again. "(Thing off!)" He spun in time with the music.

"(Well... why...)" Buizel said, hopping around and waving his arms. Every other Pokemon followed suit at the exact same time. "(Didn't you... say so?)"

Pikachu might have found this amusing if he didn't know how annoying it was. He knew better than anybody in that room how annoying it was. It was time to end this, before something either embarrassing or dangerous happened.

"(Someone...)" He swung his arms in circles and stepped to the left. "(_Grab_ that...)" He threw his arms in the air and posed, then did it again the other way. "(Thing!)" He spun around.

Everyone in the room tried to dance their way over to the metal ball, but, as Pikachu soon noticed, this was a rather difficult task. The Bellossom got close, but had to break away when the tune called for a twirl. The Meditite tried to get near it, but ended up jumping straight over it. Even Croagunk, who normally sat back and let others do the hard work, was fighting to get to the metal ball. Apparently, _he_ didn't like being forced to dance either.

Eventually, Buizel managed to pick it up, but had to dance around the room with it. "(Where's the... off... button?)"

"(_I_ don't... know!)"

Buizel slammed his paw on one of the buttons. It clicked and the polka music slowed down to a tango. Everyone instantly turned to the nearest Pokemon and grabbed them. When Pikachu did this, he noticed that he'd grabbed Buneary. Well, it certainly could have been a much worse choice. It was a vast improvement on Meowth, at any rate.

There a loud clunk and, when Pikachu spun Buneary and started doing the tango across the room with her, he noticed that Buizel had dropped the metal ball on floor to dance with Croagunk. It was rolling under the table, the buttons obviously far too stiff to be affected in any way. He would have grumbled, but his face was still stuck in a grin.

As he turned around to tango the other way, he noticed that Buneary's face had gone very red and that her eyes were sparkling. She looked like she was enjoying this.

* * *

Buneary had never felt so little control over her body as she did right now. She had no idea what was going on, only Pikachu seemed to have been through this before and her body was growing very tired from the excessive dancing. A small – well, maybe not so small – part of her couldn't complain, though. Pikachu was doing the tango with her!

She knew that this particular dance was romantic, as she'd stayed up late with Dawn a few times, watching dance shows on TVs in Pokemon Centres, but to actually be doing it with Pikachu was amazing. True, she'd like it an awful lot more if her body wasn't dancing on its own, but she'd take what she could get.

She put up little resistance as he spun her, then dipped her. Yep, this would be heaven if she had full control of her own body. Maybe she could convince him to dance with her _without_ magical music one day.

* * *

Pikachu was getting tired now. If he could just get to that accursed metal ball, then he'd be freed from this nightmare. Not that dancing with Buneary was a nightmare, of course. The way she was blushing, smiling and following his exact movements was, altogether, pretty cute. Heck, her species was cute anyway, but he still thought she was one of a kind.

"(Bellossom!)" he called out, spinning Buneary again. "(Grab the...)" He dipped Buneary. "(Ball!)"

Honestly, this whole thing might even have been fun, if he could control what he was doing. The dancing would probably be a lot clumsier – since he wasn't much of a dancer in real life and he didn't know how good Buneary was – but it'd be a lot more special. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask her to dance properly, one of these days. Today, though, he'd had quite enough of dancing already.

The Bellossom spun Pachirisu before taking a dive at the metal ball. Her continued dancing, however, sent her crashing into the table. Pachirisu then came back over and whisked her away.

"(I got it!)" the Meditite called out, crawling across the floor in a vain attempt to fight the music. She managed to knock the metal ball out from under the table and it rolled across the room. She jumped up and danced away. "(Whee! That's me... done!)" She grabbed Piplup and spun him around. "(Sorry!)"

"(Mine,)" Croagunk said, reaching out to grab the ball. However, his dancing made his hand jerk, which knocked the ball and caused it to roll away again. "(Oops.)" Buizel pulled him into a twirl.

"(I got it!)" a male Whismur said, pulling away from a male Sandshrew and pounding a button on the ball. It clicked. "(I did it!)"

The tango faded into a hula, which immediately had every pair separate to dance the hula. Pikachu shook his hips, as though he was wearing a grass skirt, and waved his arms in time to the soothing music. At least, it _would_ be soothing if he didn't have to dance to it.

"(Somebody...)" Buneary said with an ever-present grin, "(turn that thing... off...)"

Now, it seemed, even Buneary had had enough. This spurred him on to fight his way over to the metal ball, no matter what the cost. Never once stopping the hula dance, he shimmied his way towards the ball. It was difficult, he wasn't going to deny that. His mind wanted to reach the ball, but his body wanted to dance until it dropped. However, he was _not_ about to give up.

Battling his way across the room, he noticed the Bellossom get to the ball first. She slammed her paw on one of the buttons, causing the hula to melt into a waltz. His body jerked into a different dancing pattern, grabbing the Bellossom and twirling her. Getting into position, the pair of them began to step in threes around the room, perfectly in time with one another.

He discovered that it was much less pleasant dancing with the Bellossom. He was sure that she was a very nice Pokemon – and he had to admit that her species was cute – but she was no Buneary. He felt rather weird for thinking that, but it was true.

Forcing his way over to where Buneary was now waltzing with the Sandshrew, he fought to swap partners. Heck, if he was going to suffer, at least he'd be suffering alongside someone he knew and liked, not to mention someone he knew liked _him_. He twirled the Bellossom, using every ounce of fight in him to let go of her paw. She automatically twirled towards the Sandshrew, who let go of Buneary and started waltzing with the Bellossom. Pikachu cut in and grabbed Buneary, waltzing in the other direction with her.

"(Pikachu...)" she said.

"(Hey, I'd...)" He stepped in time with her in a circle. "(Rather dance with... you...)"

Her eyes sparkled again and he felt himself blush. She was awfully cute when she looked at him like that. It made him nervous.

* * *

Buneary was getting exhausted now, but she felt it was somewhat worth it. While the lack of control was still annoying, Pikachu had purposely chosen _her_ to dance with. She felt so happy and flattered. Did he really like her, deep down? She'd always assumed he did. He was always blushing and being modest and getting embarrassed around her... She could feel Butterfree and Beautifly fluttering inside her stomach. He may really truly like her!

"(It's mine!)" Piplup called out, which instantly distracted Buneary. It was followed by a click and the polka tune from earlier. "(Whoops!)"

Buneary felt herself push away from Pikachu and start dancing on her own again, once again to the fast polka tune. Oh, great. She was completely exhausted, but her body refused to slow down, even a little bit. It just kept on hopping and stepping and spinning. She wanted it to stop!

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't want them to fall. She was stronger than this. She wasn't the little cry baby from the day that she'd first met Pikachu. She looked over at the mouse in question, eyes wet and mouth still grinning, to see a strange fire in his eyes. He was also grinning, but his eyes were angry. Was he angry because she was crying? She found that thought very touching.

She watched as Pikachu danced away from her and across the room, towards the metal ball. He hopped, he stepped and he spun, but he kept on going. Her heart pounded with affection for the electric rodent. Truly, he was one of a kind. She'd always loved that about him.

He ducked and dodged out of the way of the other Pokemon, dancing all the while, until he eventually made it to the metal ball. Picking it up, he proceeded to dance with it, seemingly unable to force himself to turn it off.

"What's going on?" Ash's surprised voice called out.

Everyone turned to the doorway to see the four humans standing there, and continued to dance for them. A step here, a twirl of the arms there, a spin here and a hop there.

"Why are all the Pokemon dancing?" Dawn asked.

"And how are they all dancing in perfect synch?" Brock asked. "... Do you hear music?"

"Oh, dear..." Mary said, looking concerned.

"Well, they look like they're having fun!" Ash said with a smile.

Mary shook her head. "They're most certainly _not_ having fun. Quick, where's the-?"

Suddenly, there was a loud click and the music stopped. Buneary, and every other Pokemon, by the sound of it, slumped to the ground in exhaustion. He'd done it. Her beloved Pikachu had actually done it. She smiled warmly at the ceiling. He was so amazing, she could hardly believe it sometimes.

"... What just happened?" Dawn asked.

Mary sighed in relief. "Thank heavens... I'm terribly sorry about that. The Pokemon seem to have gotten their hands on my Dancing Poke Ball."

"Dancing Poke Ball?" Brock asked.

"Yes... Ten years ago, I bought it in a store, thinking it was just a toy for Pokemon... but, when I got it home, I realised that it held a great and terrible power."

"What does it do?" Ash asked.

"After some research, I discovered that it's part of a chain of instruments that force Pokemon to dance for entertainment."

Dawn gasped. "That's horrible!" she cried.

"Those poor Pokemon!" Ash added.

"So, then, why weren't _we_ affected?" Brock asked.

"I have no idea how it works," Mary replied, "but it only affects Pokemon. I'm terribly sorry they had to find it. I purposely keep the basement filthy, so that no Pokemon will ever want to explore down there... but I guess they _can_ get a little too curious sometimes."

"That's quite alright, Mary."

Mary sighed. "No... no, it isn't. I had recently unlocked the basement to place some broken toys down there, but I guess I forgot to lock it."

"Well," Ash said, "the Pokemon look exhausted, but I think they'll be okay. What do you think, Pikachu?"

"(Sure thing,)" came the weak reply.

* * *

The following day, Ash and Dawn had trouble finding Pikachu and Buneary. Getting rather anxious, they checked all around the mansion. It was time to leave and head off for the next city, but the pair were nowhere in sight.

"Oh... where's Buneary?" Dawn asked.

"And Pikachu, too..." Ash added.

"(One, two, three...)" Pikachu's voice said from the nearby room.

"Hey," Dawn said, "did you hear that?"

"(One, two, three...)" Buneary's voice said.

"It's coming from the playroom..." Ash replied.

The pair poked their heads around the doorframe and were quite surprised to see Pikachu and Buneary waltzing around an otherwise empty room.

"(I think I'm getting it!)" Buneary said cheerfully.

"(Me, too!)" Pikachu replied with a grin. "(Thanks for asking me to do this. It's much more fun when I can control what I'm doing.)"

Buneary giggled, blushing. "(Oh, it's no problem. I'm having fun!)"

"(Me, too- Whoa!)" Pikachu tripped and fell onto Buneary. He chuckled nervously and pulled away, blushing. "(Whoops, sorry.)"

Buneary let go of him and pulled her fur up over her face, giggling madly. "(No problem! We're both still learning.)"

Ash and Dawn moved away from the doorway and Dawn squealed quietly, so as not to disturb them. "That... is... so... cute!" she said.

Ash sighed, but couldn't help smiling himself. "Yeah, I guess it is," he replied.

**The End**


	6. Hello, Nurse

Author's note: Hello! And welcome to another installment of PABOSW! (I've been watching too many Let's Plays lately. Lol.)

I've been considering adding alternate universe one-shots randomly into the mix, whenever I feel like it. Most of the one-shots are meant to be in the canon universe, but, when an AU comes up, I'll be sure to write it in big bold letters in the author's note.

... Unless, of course, you'd prefer me to have three separate one-shot collections. One for canon, one for future and one for AU. Be sure to let me know.

Anywho, please enjoy. :)

* * *

**Hello, Nurse**

Evening fell upon the region of Sinnoh. Ash, Dawn and Brock had recently made it to the next town, which unfortunately held no gyms or contest halls, and had booked a room in the local Pokemon Centre before handing their Pokemon over to Nurse Joy.

Now in the back room, Pikachu watched as Nurse Joy slowly released each and every Pokemon from their Pokeballs. As per usual, they would get a healing machine each, recover from their injuries, and then he'd be able to stay in Ash's room for the night. The beds were only used for really bad cases. He was quite familiar with that rule, having used them a few times before.

Eventually, she opened the last Pokeball and Buneary materialised in front of him. He immediately expected to see the bright smile on her face that he'd come to know so well, so what he actually saw shocked him.

Buneary was swaying on the spot, her eyes glazed over and her cheeks bright red. Sweat dotted her forehead and she seemed about ready to topple over any moment. He became rather concerned.

"Oh, dear..." Nurse Joy said, "that doesn't look good." She picked Buneary up. "You seem to have caught a fever. I'd best get you to a bed. I'm sure your trainer will want to know about this, too. Chansey, please get the others to their healing machines."

"(Okay!)" Chansey replied. "(Come on, everyone!)"

As Nurse Joy walked away with Buneary, and the other Pokemon followed Chansey, Pikachu watched the nurse, still feeling concerned. A fever? Was Buneary going to be okay? He looked to the side of him and noticed that Piplup was also still standing there, watching Nurse Joy with a concerned expression on his face.

"(Buneary...)" Piplup said.

Pikachu watched him for a second longer, then turned back to where Nurse Joy had just disappeared through a door. Buneary would be fine, right? Sure. She'd be fine. It was only a fever, after all, right?

* * *

A while later, after spending some time in a healing machine, Pikachu was sitting on the edge of a bed that Buneary was currently lying in. Piplup was sitting next to him and the three humans were in chairs on the opposite side.

"Oh, Buneary..." Dawn said. "How did this happen? She was in her Pokeball the whole time, so how could she be sick?"

"Now, don't worry, Dawn," Brock replied, "it could be anything. She may just have mild infection or something."

"Yeah!" Ash added. "No need to worry, right, Dawn?"

"Mmm..." Dawn replied. "Brock, is there nothing you or Nurse Joy can do to help her?"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid not. We can heal injuries and provide suitable nutrients, but this is something that she just needs to ride out."

"But, if it's an infection, then maybe you could-!"

"Nurse Joy said it didn't seem too serious, so there's no need for antibiotics. It'll most likely be gone by morning."

"Hnnn..."

Pikachu observed Buneary in her bed. She looked so helpless. He'd never _seen_ her look so helpless. She was staring through half-lidded eyes at the ceiling, sweat still dotting her forehead, and her cheeks were still bright red. She seemed barely aware of the world around her. He really hoped Brock was right. Buneary was a nice, sweet girl. She didn't deserve this illness.

She clenched her eyes for a few moments, looking as though she was in pain. His heart went out to her. He really wished there was something he could do to help.

"(Water...)" Buneary said weakly.

His ears perked up. "(Huh?)"

"Buneary!" Dawn cried. "Are you okay?"

"(Water...)" Buneary repeated.

Realising what she wanted, he quickly looked around the room. Spotting a bottle of water that Nurse Joy had left on the table nearby, he rushed over to get it for her. He knocked Piplup over on the way, but paid the penguin no mind. This was important, after all.

* * *

Piplup pulled his face up from the mattress in shock. He watched as Pikachu jumped off the bed onto a nearby table and picked up the bottle of water that'd _he'd_ been about to get for Buneary, before he'd been rudely shoved aside.

He scowled. How dare the mouse upstage him like that! It wasn't the first time, either. He'd been doing it ever since he could remember. When they'd first met Buneary, she'd beaten the tar out of _him_, yet had refused to attack Pikachu. When he'd played a game of ring toss on a boat and missed, Pikachu had rebounded it onto the one hundred point mark and she'd gone crazy over him, completely ignoring that _he'd_ almost had it. (He may have congratulated him at the time, but still. He'd been in a great mood that day.) When she'd won the Hearthome Collection, he'd tried to give her a hug as congratulations, but, yet again, she'd completely ignored him and hugged Pikachu instead. When they'd been separated from Pikachu in a snowy environment, he'd managed to get an apple for their group, but Swinub had promptly eaten it. While Ambipom had belittled his inability to find more apples, Buneary's only response had been to say that Pikachu would've done a much better job. Later, when they'd all reunited inside the ice palace, she'd shoved him out of the way and run straight towards Pikachu. Buizel had teased him about that shortly afterwards.

In fact, all she'd ever talked about while being on Dawn's team was 'Pikachu this' and 'Pikachu that'. Well, _he_ was _twice_ the man that stupid mouse would _ever_ be! He was far more awesome and he'd prove it!

He jumped to his feet. Buneary was _his_ friend and _his_ team-mate, therefore she was _his_ responsibility! He wasn't about to let Pikachu upstage him again!

* * *

Pikachu jumped back on the bed, the water bottle in his paws, and walked towards Buneary. Partway, there, however, someone suddenly swiped it away from him. He turned in indignation, only to see Piplup smirking victoriously at him.

"(Hey!)" he said.

"(I'll be taking this, if you don't mind,)" Piplup replied. He then turned and walked towards Buneary. "(Oh, Buneary~! Look what I got~!)"

Pikachu grew angry. "(Oh no, you're not taking credit for that! I'm the one who went and got it for her!)"

Piplup stopped and turned to smirk at him again. "(Oh and what're you gonna do about it?)"

Pikachu gritted his teeth. Was this really worth fighting over? All that mattered was that Buneary got her water, right?

"(Ha _ha_! I guess that makes _me_ the victor, then! In your _face_, Pikachu! I am the almighty king and you are but a lowly peasant!)"

Pikachu's pride spiked. Okay, insulting him was going way too far. "(Oh no, you don't!)" He dove at Piplup and yanked the bottle from his flippers. "(I'm not letting you get away with that!)"

Piplup yanked it back. "(_I'm_ gonna be the one to give this to Buneary!)"

Pikachu yanked it back again. "(No, _I_ am!)"

Piplup tried to yank it back, but Pikachu held fast. The bottle wavered back and forth as they each tried to pull it away from the other.

"(Buneary is _my_ team-mate, so you don't _deserve_ to give it to her!)"

"(Don't you tell me what I do and don't deserve! Buneary's _my_ friend, _too_!)"

"(Screw you, Pikachu!)"

"(Yeah? Well, screw you, too, Piplup!)"

Releasing the bottle, the two of them fell into a brawl on the bed. They rolled back and forth, pummeling each other with their paws and flippers.

"Hey, whoa, whoa!" Ash called out.

"Why are you two fighting?" Dawn cried.

"Break it up, you two!" Brock said, grabbing them both by the scruffs of their necks and pulling them apart.

"What the heck were you two _doing_?" Ash asked.

"Hmm... they seemed to be fighting over who would give Buneary this water bottle."

"Really?" Dawn asked. "Why would they do _that_?"

Brock released the two Pokemon, who glared daggers at each other. "I'm not sure, but Pokemon can be very competitive sometimes. In any case..." He picked up the water bottle and unscrewed the cap. "Buneary probably needs some water. Ash, could you pass me that cup behind you?"

"Huh?" Ash asked, then turned behind him to see a plastic cup. "Oh, sure!" He grabbed it and passed it to Brock.

Brock poured some water into the cup and passed it to Buneary. "Here you go, Buneary. You do need to keep your fluids up, after all."

Buneary slowly held out her paws and took the cup. "(Thank you...)" she replied weakly, then started drinking from it.

* * *

It was a couple of hours later and Buneary had shown no improvement. Pikachu was sitting near her pillow on one side of the bed and Piplup was on the other side. Occasionally, the penguin would lift his head up and glare at him, every once in a while protectively shielding the rabbit with his flipper. Pikachu was growing a bit tired of it.

As for the humans, they were all reading magazines that Nurse Joy had brought them earlier. Ash was reading Trainers' Monthly, Dawn was reading Co-ordinators' Digest and Brock was reading Beauty Queen, no doubt staring at all the pictures of beautiful models. Eventually, Nurse Joy came back into the room.

"Alright, everyone..." she said, "it's time for bed."

Dawn lowered her magazine. "But, Nurse Joy!" she cried. "What about Buneary? I can't just leave her alone down here!"

"I'm sure your Buneary will be fine, dear. I know the other Pokemon beds are empty at the moment, but she does need her rest."

"Hnnn..."

"Now, get to bed, the three of you. Staying up late is bad for your skin. It makes you irritable and it ruins your appetite."

"Where have I heard _that_ before?" Ash asked, puzzled.

"Come on, now. Chop chop."

"Alright..." Dawn replied.

The three humans all put their magazines down, then stood up and walked around the bed, heading towards the door. Piplup waddled down to the edge of the bed and jumped off to follow them. Pikachu, however, took one last glance at Buneary, concerned about her well-being. She'd be okay, right? He paused. Sure. She'd be fine. He turned around and started walking towards the edge of the bed.

"(Please...)" Buneary said weakly.

He stopped and turned to look at her. "(Huh?)" he asked.

"(Please... don't leave me...)"

He walked back to his place beside her pillow. "(Buneary?)"

She turned slowly to look at him through half-lidded eyes. "(I don't wanna be alone...)"

Her feelings hit him like a freight train and sent him careening down memory lane. He recalled the time that Ash, Misty and Brock had been about to leave him with Nurse Joy way back in Gringey City in Kanto. He'd been sick and had needed the company of friends. The thought of them leaving him had terrified him. He knew _now_ that Ash would never leave him, but the memory still burned in the back of his mind.

His heart went out to her. "(Don't worry. I won't.)"

"Pikachu?" Ash asked from across the room. He turned to his best friend. "You coming, buddy?"

He shook his head. "(No, I'm staying with Buneary.)"

Piplup, who was standing by Dawn's feet, blinked. "(You are?)" he asked.

"I think Pikachu wants to stay with Buneary, Ash," Brock said.

"You do?" Ash asked. He gave a determined frown. "Then I'll stay here, too!"

"No, no," Nurse Joy replied. "I'm sorry, but this area is for Pokemon only. Humans aren't allowed to stay in here overnight. Pokemon Centre rules."

Ash turned abruptly to face the nurse. "But-!"

"Can't you make an exception, Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked.

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules. Now, go to bed, you three. If Pikachu wants to stay down here, then he's free to."

"Pikachu..." Ash said, turning sadly to his best friend.

Pikachu gave him a determined smile. "(Don't worry, Ash!)" he said. "(I'll be fine!)"

Ash blinked at him, then smiled. "Well, if this is really what you want..."

Down by Dawn's feet, Piplup scowled. "(If _he's_ staying, then I'm staying, too!)" he cried. He ran over to the bed, jumped on it and turned to face the humans, his flippers on his hips and his head held high.

"Piplup?" Dawn asked, surprised. "You wanna stay, too?"

Piplup nodded. "(Yeah.)"

"Oh... well, okay, then... if that's what you really want."

Piplup smacked a flipper against his chest. "(It is!)" He turned to face Pikachu and scowled at him. "(_I'm_ gonna be Buneary's nurse. You just stay out of my way.)"

Pikachu frowned at him. "(Oh, brother...)" he replied.

* * *

A while later, it was dark in the Pokemon Centre. The only light in the room was reflecting off the moon and attempting to bend around the drawn curtains. Since Pikachu had been in here a while now, watching over Buneary, his eyes had finally managed to adjust to the darkness.

Opposite him, just as before, was Piplup. The penguin yawned, clearly in need of sleep, but refusing to budge from his position near Buneary's pillow. Buneary, in the meantime, had been quiet for a while, presumably trying to get some sleep.

Suddenly, the rabbit stirred. Pikachu's ears perked up and Piplup sat up straighter. They watched as she shivered, pulling the blanket tighter around her.

"(Buneary?)" Pikachu asked. "(Are you cold?)"

"(Mmm-hmm...)" she replied, scrunching up her face in discomfort.

"(Huh?)" Piplup asked, clearly confused. "(But I thought you had a temperature.)" He placed his flipper on her forehead, then drew back quickly, looking shocked. "(You're still hot!)"

Pikachu was slightly annoyed at the penguin's incompetence. "(Well, yeah. She has a fever, remember?)"

Piplup scowled at him. "(Don't you condescend me!)"

"(I'm so cold...)" Buneary murmured.

Pikachu felt the blanket vibrate with her shuddering and suddenly felt very worried. Piplup didn't matter. What mattered now was making sure that Buneary was warm.

"(I'll get you another blanket!)" he said, dashing off the side of bed.

"(Oh, no, you don't!)" Piplup called out. "(_I'll_ do it!)"

Pikachu ignored him, pulling the blanket off the adjacent bed. Unfortunately, it fell on top of him and completely clouded his vision.

"(Ack! Tsk, darn it.)"

He struggled to get out from under the blanket, but it was immediately pulled away from him.

"(Mine!)"

It fell on top of Piplup instead. Pikachu ground his teeth in annoyance and lunged at the blanket, pulling it away from the penguin.

"(Get off it!)"

Now free of the blanket, Piplup also grabbed it and tried to pull it away. "(No, _you_ get off it!)"

"(Buneary needs this!)"

"(So, I'll give it to her! Bubble... beam!)

Pikachu had no time to dodge before a stream of bubbles smacked him in the face. Being at a type disadvantage to him, they weren't too painful, but they did sting a bit and they did pack a wallop. His paws slipped off the blanket and he toppled backwards.

When he managed to sit back up again, Piplup had managed to drag the extra blanket onto the bed. He was currently trying to cover Buneary with it.

Pikachu was filled with indignation at the sight. "(Oh, no, you don't!)" He ran over, jumped onto the bed and started tugging the blanket into place over Buneary. "(_I'm_ gonna do this!)"

Piplup tugged it back. "(Oh, I don't think so!)"

This continued for a while, until the first blanket was completely covered with the second blanket. Pikachu smiled at his handiwork and touched Buneary's arm. "(Hey, Buneary, I-)" He paused in shock when he felt the goosebumps on her arm. Not only that, but she was still shivering. Thinking quickly, he decided to tuck her in.

"(Are you-? I wanna do that!)" Piplup began to mimic him, tucking her in from the other side.

Pikachu wasn't sure when, but this had become a competition. Buneary's health was still top priority, but, somewhere along the line, he'd found that he needed to prove himself to Piplup. If the penguin was so keen to outdo him, for whatever reason, then he needed to up his game. He'd be the first to admit that he wasn't the competitive type, but Piplup had insulted his honour. No one did that and got away with it.

* * *

As the night wore on, Pikachu and Piplup continually fought over Buneary. They fought over who would bring her water, who would get a damp cloth and put it on her forehead, who would try to cheer her up and who would try to help her get to sleep. Currently, they were both fluffing her pillow from opposite sides of the bed.

"(There you go, Buneary,)" Pikachu said. "(Is that soft enough?)"

"(Did I do a good job, Buneary?)" Piplup asked.

"(Thank you, you guys...)" Buneary replied with a weak smile.

She really appreciated what these two were doing for her. She'd always thought that it was just Pikachu who was an angel, but she was beginning to see that Piplup could be an angel, too. She was glad to have friends like these.

Maybe if her brain was functioning properly, she'd be fawning over how her crush had volunteered to be her nurse for the night, but, in all honesty, she was far too tired to care as much. She still cared – a lot, in fact – but it was dulled by the constant high temperature, cold shivers and the need to keep her fluids up.

She wasn't stupid, though. She could see that Pikachu and Piplup were getting rather competitive over being her nurse. Who knew why, but at least it meant that she was well taken care of. Hopefully, though, this wouldn't continue on tomorrow and the following days. She'd hate for her best friend and her crush to be at each other's throats for too long.

* * *

Pikachu was exhausted. He had no idea what time it was, but he was sure that it was pretty late by now. He glanced at Buneary, noting that she was fast asleep – with her face turned towards him – and seemed reasonably okay. This satisfied him. He was happy that he'd done a good enough job that she would recover soon.

Lying down next to her, he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

Piplup glared at Pikachu across the bed. Oh, so the mouse was going to sleep next to Buneary, was he? Well, two could play at _that_ game! He quietly shuffled into position behind her and closed his eyes.

He lay like for a few minutes, until he opened his eyes again, his heart heavy. _(What am I doing?)_ he thought.

Maybe it was his tired brain, or maybe his conscience had finally woken up, but he realised that he was being stupid. Buneary had a massive crush on Pikachu, so it was only natural that she'd choose the mouse over him. It didn't mean that he wasn't important, did it? Heck, maybe no one ever even realised that they were neglecting him. Buneary was obsessed with Pikachu, to the point where she was blind to everything else, and he knew that Pikachu could be pretty darn stupid sometimes. It didn't help that the guy's trainer was even more stupid that _he_ was.

Piplup wasn't going to lie. He loved attention. He craved it like Pachirisu craved pink poffins. Well, sure, _he_ craved them, too, but that was beside the point! He'd often been asked why he wouldn't prefer to do gym battles, instead of contests, and the simple answer was that he liked to show off. He liked being watched by a crowd of cheering fans and rated 'simply marvelous' by a panel of adoring judges. Maybe tonight had been the wrong time for showing off, though.

He'd been a bit selfish. He'd mostly been thinking of being better than Pikachu, instead of keeping Buneary happy and healthy. Annoyingly, Pikachu had been doing the exact opposite. He'd still been competitive, but he'd always been the one to jump to her aid first. Perhaps he really did deserve the title of 'Buneary's nurse'.

Standing up, he carefully waddled around Buneary and observed Pikachu. The mouse seemed to be pretty much asleep already and awfully close to Buneary. He smiled. The two of them actually looked rather cute like that. It was a pity that Buneary was fast asleep and sick, otherwise she'd probably have a heart attack at the sight.

Making a decision, he waddled a bit further down the bed, near Buneary's feet, and lay back down. Closing his eyes, he had one last thought before drifting off to sleep; if they were still in those positions when the humans woke up, a squealing Dawn would be demanding a camera from a confused Ash.

**The End**


	7. Frosted Fruitcake

Author's note: Hey, everyone!

This time, we're dealing with a one-shot that actually fits quite snugly into the Pokemon universe. This won't matter if you're not up to speed with the Sinnoh episodes, but hey. All the same, it's nice that it does.

Also, yeah, this one would come before Girl Troubles if there was a timeline going on here. There _could_ be, if you like, but that's not necessarily the case.

Lastly, I wrote the first half of this one-shot ages ago, but wasn't entirely happy with it. After leaving it alone for a long time and coming back to it, though, I realised I liked it again, so I finished it off. Please enjoy!

* * *

**Frosted Fruitcake**

Just like any other day in Snowpoint City, the weather was freezing. Snow constantly decorated the roofs and floor and, even when it melted, more would fall from the sky. Fortunately, Ash, Dawn and Brock were all wearing their winter jackets made by Dawn's mother, Johanna, and Pikachu had his fur coat to keep him warm.

"Alright!" Ash cried with fierce determination. "Time to head to Lake Acuity!"

"I know of a train station nearby that'll take us straight there," Brock said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"(Yeah, let's!)" Pikachu called out.

"But, Ash!" Dawn cried. "It's Christmas Eve!"

"So?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

"I wanted to spend Christmas the way I _always_ do!" She beamed. "With a hot chocolate, a warm blanket and all my favourite Christmas shows on TV!"

"But, Dawn... I have a battle with Paul coming up real soon... I need to start heading over to Lake Acuity."

"Oh, that battle's _ages_ away! We've got _plenty_ of time to sit around Snowpoint City and enjoy Christmas!"

"She has a point, you know..." Brock said.

"Plus, you've done a _ton_ of training lately, so you'll be fine!" She clasped her hands together. "I _really_ wanna stay at the Pokemon Centre and, hopefully, get to see some of the classics! The Three Smoochum... Rudolph The Blue-Nosed Stantler… or maybe The Pokemon Express!"

Ash sighed. "Alright..." he said, "we'll stay for Christmas..."

Dawn giggled. "Yay! Aww, thank you, Ash!"

* * *

Another snowball hit Pikachu in the face. He laughed, noticing that Piplup was the one pointing and laughing at him, so he was clearly the one who had thrown it. Scooping up some more snow, he rolled it into a ball and threw it back. When it smacked Piplup in the face, Pikachu laughed and ducked behind a mound of snow.

Also behind this mound of snow were his team for the snowball fight, which consisted of Buizel, Buneary and Pachirisu. Buneary instantly shuffled over and nuzzled him. He tensed in embarrassment.

"(That was a great shot, Pikachu,)" she said.

He could see Buizel smirking and him and Pachirisu smiling rather widely. Why, oh why, couldn't she flirt with him when no one was watching?

He laughed nervously. "(Thanks, Buneary...)" he replied.

"(Okay...)" Buizel said, "(new strategy. Buneary, you go after Chimchar.)"

"(Okay!)" Buneary replied.

"(Pachirisu, you go after Grotle.)"

"(Okie dokie!)" Pachirisu replied.

"(Pikachu, you go after Piplup.)"

"(Sure,)" Pikachu replied, still feeling awkward about Buneary rubbing up against him.

"(And I'll go after Sudowoodo.)"

Pikachu glanced sideways at the remaining Pokemon who had decided to sit out of the game. Mamoswine was fast asleep with Croagunk sitting beside him, who was staring off into space. Staraptor and Gliscor were resting in the nearby tree and Happiny was inside the Pokemon Centre with Brock. It was a shame that Ambipom had left the group recently, but Pikachu was sure that she was happy, wherever she was right now.

"(Let's go!)" Pachirisu cried, dashing off.

Buizel immediately ran in another direction and Buneary finally moved away from Pikachu to hop in another. Pikachu sighed. Sure, the rabbit was cute, but did she really have to shower him with affection constantly? Oh well. Time for more snowball fun!

He took one step, but felt his foot get caught on a stone. Yelping, he fell forward and landed face-first in the pile of snow.

Pushing himself up again, he spluttered and shook it off, only to pause when he noticed an unconscious Azumarill underneath him. His eyes widened and he scrambled to shake the poor thing awake.

"(Hey!)" he cried, shaking what he knew to be a female. "(Wake up! Are you okay?)"

"(Urgh...)" she replied, her eyes slowly opening. "(Huh?)"

"(What happened? Are you alright?)"

She blinked a couple of times. "(Hi... Did... you save me?)"

"(Huh? Well, yeah, I guess so.)"

The Azumarill's dark brown eyes shone in admiration, her face lighting up with a slight blush, then she suddenly leapt to her feet and tackled Pikachu in a hug. He yelped in surprise and fell over, landing on his back in the snow.

"(Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! That's so kind of you!)"

"(Ack! Uh, you're welcome.)"

"(It's a sign of true love that you're the one you saved me!)"

"(Yeah, I...)" His eyes widened. "(Wait, what?)"

"(Just like a prince awakening his sleeping princess with a kiss!)"

He heard footsteps as his friends approached and panic set in. "(Hold on a minute!)"

She stood up, grabbed his paw and pulled him to his feet. "(What do you think about living together outside of the city? We'll make a nice burrow out in the snowy wonderland and live happily ever after! But we'll be sure to stay away from the really blizzardy area, because then it won't be romantic!)"

Pikachu couldn't believe what he was hearing. "(Wha-?)" He looked to the side of him to see all his friends staring at him with wide eyes.

"(Pikachu?)" Buneary asked.

The Azumarill turned to the group. "(Oh, hi there!)" she said. "(Are you friends of my mate?)"

Everyone's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "(_Mate_?)" they all asked.

Pikachu blushed. "(D-Don't you think you're being a little hasty, Azumarill?)" he asked.

The Azumarill giggled and hugged him, nuzzling into his fur. "(Of course not! Destiny has declared that we are meant to be!)"

"(B-But-)"

"(Come on!)" She pulled him by the paws in the other direction. "(Let's head over there right now, so we can get started on our burrow!)"

He started flailing in her grasp. "(Wait! Argh!)"

* * *

"(... Wow,)" Buizel remarked, "(looks like you've got some competition, Buneary.)"

"(He has a _mate_?)" Piplup asked, astounded. "(Really? Since _when_?)"

"(Well, I think she's cute,)" Pachirisu said, "(whoever she is!)"

Buneary continued to stare wordlessly at the retreating duo. Pikachu had a mate? For how long? And, if so, why did he never tell her about her? She could feel her heart breaking just a little more with each passing second. Was _that_ why he always shied away from her affection? Was _that_ why he always rejected her advances? She'd always assumed that he was just shy, but... maybe that hadn't been true at all.

Quietly, she retreated to sit down near the 'enemy base' and collect her thoughts. She only vaguely registered Buizel and Piplup look at each other before following after Pikachu. Pachirisu happily trotted after them.

* * *

Pikachu had finally broken free and was running back to the group. When he saw three of them round the corner, he had to skid to a stop to avoid crashing into them.

Buizel folded his arms. "(Just _what's_ going on, Pikachu?)" he asked.

"(Since when do you have a mate?)" Piplup asked.

"(Well...)" he replied, standing up on his hind legs.

Azumarill suddenly appeared and grabbed him from behind. "(Gotcha!)" she said. She giggled. "(That was fun, my little snuggle bunny!)

He felt his desperation to break free again rising. "(Uh, I'm not a bunny...)"

"(Oh, I know that, silly!)"

"(So, how did you two meet, anyway?)" Buizel asked skeptically.

"(My wonderful knight in shining armour here saved me! Earlier today, I was playing in the snow, but I slipped and crashed into a tree. My head was hurting and I was soooo dizzy that I just stumbled around for a bit... and then, suddenly, _whoomph_, I got hit by a massive pile of snow! It must've come from the tree I crashed into... and I was only awake for a short time before everything went dark...)" She shuddered, clinging to Pikachu tighter.

"(Aww!)" Pachirisu cried emotionally. "(You poor thing!)"

"(... So, what does this have to do with knowing Pikachu?)" Buizel asked.

"(My _amazing_ Prince Charming here freed me from the snow! I knew, right then, that we were destined to be together, forever and ever!)"

Pikachu blushed awkwardly as he watched his friends stare incredulously at him. There was a long stretch of silence.

Suddenly, Piplup sniggered. This caused a chain reaction, where Buizel started sniggering, then Pachirisu started sniggering, then the three of them burst into gales of laughter.

Pikachu just wanted to crawl into a hole. "(Guys...)" he said.

"(Aww, man!)" Piplup cried. "(So, you've only just met _today_?)"

"(I _know_!)" Azumarill replied giddily. "(It's amazing, isn't it?)"

"(Oh, it's amazing, alright!)" Buizel said.

Azumarill let go of Pikachu's torso to grab his cheeks and make him face her. "(I knew, the moment our eyes connected, that we shared a bond that would last for all eternity.)"

"(Um...)" Pikachu replied awkwardly.

"(I have never been so in love with a Pokemon as I am with _you_, my darling. The two of us shall spend the rest of our lives together.)"

"(Uh...)" His fear continued to climb higher and higher.

"(And the moment we make our burrow, we'll start building a family, just you and me.)" His eyes widened considerably. "(All the little baby Pichu and Azurill that we'll create... raising them together... and growing old together...)"

He couldn't take anymore. "(Gah!)" Breaking loose, he ran away.

Azumarill giggled. "(Come back, my love!)" She ran after him.

* * *

Buneary sighed sadly. Sure, she was glad that Pikachu had decided not to start building a burrow outside of town, but he was still with _her_, that aqua rabbit that she'd never so much as _heard_ of before. Why wouldn't Pikachu tell her about her? She didn't understand.

She watched as the two of them played a game of tag, with Pikachu running and Azumarill chasing after him. They looked so in love. It was really painful to watch, but what could she do? If he had a mate, then she had no right trying to win his heart anymore.

Nearby, Buizel, Piplup and Pachirisu were watching the mouse and rabbit's game of tag.

"(Lucky cad,)" Piplup said. "(It's not enough having _one_ rabbit fawn over him, so he gets _two_, instead!)" Buneary winced at this.

Pachirisu giggled. "(You'd almost think he _was_ a rabbit at this point!)" he said. "(Well, he _does_ kinda look like one, what with the ears and all.)"

"(Yeah...)" Buizel agreed, "(and _someone_ sounds a little jealous, eh, Piplup?)"

"(I am not!)" Piplup replied. There was a pause. "(Alright, fine. I _did_ like a Marill once, remember? It kinda stings that her evolved form is chasing after Pikachu when he's _already _got a girl fawning over him!)" He bounced around in annoyance. "(Why does _he_ get all the giiiirls? It's not fair!)"

"(So, then... are you saying that you'd _want_ Azumarill fawning over you?)"

Piplup stopped his bouncing and paused for thought. He sniggered. "(Guess not.)" He burst out laughing and the other two laughed along with him.

Buneary frowned a little. What was wrong with Azumarill? She seemed like a nice enough girl. Why _wouldn't_ they want the kind of attention that she gave Pikachu?

* * *

Azumarill hugged Pikachu tightly, snuggling into his fur. "(Come on,)" she said, "(enough fooling around, Pikachu! It's time to go and make our burrow.)"

"(But...)" he replied desperately, "(I-I have a trainer! He's on a quest to become a Pokemon Master and I can't just leave him!)"

"(Oh, I'm sure he won't miss you! He can just replace you with _another_ electric-type! No big deal!)"

"(But I was his starter!)"

"(He'll understand. He'll know that _your_ happiness comes before his own. Come on, it's time to go.)"

He cast his mind around, trying to think of an excuse. "(Um... h-how about you wait until tomorrow?)" He pushed her off him. "(I'm tired and I wanna sleep in the Pokemon Centre tonight!)"

She pouted. "(Aww... okay, then.)" She smiled. "(I'll be right here, waiting for you, tomorrow!)"

* * *

Pikachu lay awake in bed that night, next to Ash – who was fast asleep – and looked out the window. He was severely creeped out when he saw Azumarill sleeping outside the Pokemon Centre and quickly turned away.

He sighed. What had he done to deserve this? At least when Buneary flirted with him, it was flattering. This was just downright creepy. A burrow and kids on their first day meeting each other? Saying it was ridiculous would be putting it lightly.

Buneary. He'd always thought that _she_ was over the top, but, compared to Azumarill... Well, he'd much rather have Buneary's flirting than Azumarill's, that was for sure. Honestly, she wasn't all that bad. She complimented him, hugged him and, occasionally, rubbed against him, but she knew to give him his space and to not be too forward. He smiled fondly at the memories. Yeah, if he had to have either her or Azumarill for a mate, he'd definitely go for Buneary. She was just so cute and sweet.

He blinked to himself and shook the thought away. No, he couldn't let himself get caught up in ideas like that. He wasn't ready for a mate and still had tons of battling to do and a life to live. Plus, it would be downright embarrassing to face his friends afterwards.

Anyway, none of that was important right now. What _was_ important was his new main priority: get rid of Azumarill at all costs.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, guys!" Ash said, once they'd all woken up.

"Merry Christmas!" Dawn replied.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas!" Brock said.

"Oh, I should call my mom!" Ash said, scrambling out of bed.

"Me, too!" Dawn replied.

"We should _all_ call our moms!" Brock said.

"Last one to the telephone's a rotten egg!" Ash called, running out of the room.

"Ash!" Dawn called out. "You forgot to brush your teeth! And you're still in your PJs!"

Pikachu laughed quietly to himself, then jumped off the bed to follow his trainer downstairs.

* * *

After greeting all three humans' mothers other the telephone, the Pokemon were allowed outside again. The moment Pikachu stepped outside, he was tackled in a hug by Azumarill.

"(Morning, sweetie!)" she said, nuzzling him.

He could feel his skin crawling from her touch, especially since the other Pokemon were watching. "(M-Morning, Azumarill...)" he replied.

"(Now, how's about we go and make that burrow, hmm? Now that you've had your beauty sleep?)"

"(Uh...)" He needed an excuse and fast.

Pachirisu giggled. "(You could always play some games with us!)" he said.

"(Yes! Games!)" He was in the squirrel's debt for that save. "(Wanna play some games, Azumarill?)"

Azumarill looked thoughtful. "(Hmm...)" she replied, "(well, I _guess_ it sounds like fun...)"

"(Great, let's go!)" He pried himself away from her and ran into the distance.

She giggled. "(Come back, my love!)"

* * *

Strangely, the group discovered two abandoned wooden sleds, so they'd decided to drag them up the nearby hill and slide back down again on them. Buizel had pointed out that the two sleds could probably only carry four Pokemon each, so Mamoswine, Staraptor, Gliscor and Grotle had elected to stay on the bottom and watch them come down. Buizel and Sudowoodo would go up the hill, but push the loaded sleds down.

Once they were at the top, Azumarill immediately dragged Pikachu onto one of the sleds. "(This'll be fun!)" she said.

"(Yay!)" Happiny cried, jumping down to sit behind Azumarill. "(Sledding!)"

Piplup, Chimchar and Pachirisu sat down on the other sled. Croagunk watched Buneary, who looked between the two sleds uncertainly. After a moment, she sat down behind Pachirisu. Croagunk said nothing and sat down behind Happiny.

Pikachu was surprised at this. Buneary wasn't sitting with _him_? Why _was_ that? Every opportunity the rabbit got, she would sit next to him. Something was very wrong here. Looking ahead of him at the slope, he suddenly got an idea. If he couldn't _talk_ his way out of Azumarill leaving him alone, maybe he could _convince_ her to leave him alone. He'd be the worst mate imaginable and put her off him! Not that he was bad at talking to girls or anything... Okay, so maybe he _was_.

"(Ready, Pikachu?)" Buizel asked.

"(Ready,)" Pikachu replied.

"(_You_ ready, Piplup?)" Sudowoodo asked.

"(Ready!)" Piplup replied.

"(Then three...)" Buizel said. Pikachu felt the sled move. "(Two...)" It moved a bit further. Azumarill's grip on his waist tightened. "(One!)" They slid down the hill.

Everyone cried out in joy. Pikachu, however, saw this as his chance. Grabbing the front of the sled, he used all of his strength to move it sideways. It slid across the snow and crashed into the other sled.

Piplup yelped in surprise. "(Pikachu!)" he cried. "(What do you think you're doing?)"

Ignoring him, Pikachu pulled the sled the other way, causing it to lose control and spin out, while still sliding down the hill. Two of the Pokemon behind him screamed. Croagunk said nothing.

When they finally reached the bottom, their spinning sled tipped over and crashed into the ground sideways, causing all four of them to fall off it.

"(Whee!)" Happiny cried. "(Do it again! Do it again!)"

Piplup's indignant face appeared above him. "(Pikachu! Just what the heck was _that_ all about?)"

Sitting up, Pikachu massaged his aching head. "(Oh, dear...)" he said, "(it seems I'm a homicidal maniac who wants to kill everybody with a sled. I'm clearly too dangerous to have as a mate. Right, Azumarill?)"

Azumarill sat up, staring at him. She giggled. "(Don't be silly!)" she said. "(That was really fun! We should do that again!)"

Pikachu stared incredulously at her. "(But... I tried to kill you! Don't you get it? I'm a terrible, terrible Pokemon!)"

"(Naw, it was all in good fun! Besides, you'd never really kill me, 'cause I'm your mate!)"

Pikachu slapped a paw to his forehead and fell over.

* * *

A while later – after some of the other Pokemon had taken a turn on the sleds – the gang were making snowmen. Again, Pikachu got an idea, so he got to work on building.

Partway through, he looked over at Buneary, half expecting her to build a Pikachu snowman, but was surprised when he saw her building a Snover snowman. Just what was wrong with her today? She wasn't behaving her usual self... unless it had something to do with Azumarill. The aqua rabbit _was_ being very clingy lately, so maybe _that_ was why. Buneary couldn't very well flirt with him with _her_ around. That must be it.

He looked over at Azumarill and felt quite disturbed when he saw that _she _was building a Pikachu snowman. She was also hugging it each time a new body part was added. He cringed.

Eventually, he finished building his Azumarill snowman, which he immediately showed off to Azumarill.

She came running over. "(Oh, wow!)" she said, her eyes sparkling. "(It's beautiful!)"

"(It _is_)!" he replied. "(But you know what's even _more_ beautiful?)"

Azumarill giggled. "(What?)" She was expecting him to say _her_ wasn't she? Ha!

"(This!)" He jumped up, sending energy to his tail. "(Iron Tail!)" Swinging his tail, he lopped off the snow bunny's head.

As he landed proudly back on the ground, there was silence for a minute. This was it. He'd really done it this time. She'd be so angry about him desecrating her likeness that she'd leave him!

"(You know _Iron Tail_? That really _is_ beautiful!)"

He almost fell over in shock. "(Wha-?)"

"(You're even _more_ worthy of being my mate! I can't believe how lucky I am!)"

"(But... I...)" He shook himself out of him stupor. "(No!)" He got on all fours and dashed towards her Pikachu snowman. "(Volt-Volt-Volt Tackle!)" He smashed straight through it, then skidded to a stop in a semi-circle, so that he was facing Azumarill. "(See? Not so worthy _now_, am I?)"

"(What are you _talking_ about? You know Volt Tackle too! You're amazing!)"

He blinked. "(But... I...)" He sighed in aggravation and fell over. "(I give up!)"

"(Hmm?)" Azumarill plodded over and her face suddenly loomed above him. "(Give up on what?)"

"(I can't do this anymore! I've tried and tried, but it's just no good!)"

"(Tried what?)"

Buneary's face also suddenly loomed above him. "(Pikachu?)" she asked. "(Are you okay?)"

"(No...)" he replied. "(No, I'm not okay...)"

"(Here, lemme help you up.)" She held out a paw.

"(Thanks.)" He took it and let her pull him to his feet.

"(... I see...)" Azumarill said.

He looked at her. "(Hmm? _What_ do you see?)"

All of a sudden, Azumarill looked very sad. "(You should have said something earlier...)"

"(Huh?)"

"(You don't love me at all, do you?)"

His eyes widened at this. "(Wha-?)"

"(You love _her_.)" She nodded towards Buneary.

He looked at Buneary, who blushed, then back at Azumarill in disbelief. "(Well-)" He stopped himself, realising that this was his golden opportunity. He was starting to feel bad for Azumarill, but he'd still made a vow to himself to get rid of her. "(Actually, yes.)" He put an arm around Buneary and pulled her close. "(You've caught me out. The two of us have been mates for a while now. I didn't say anything because I knew it would upset you.)"

There was dead silence behind him. He could feel the looks that his friends were giving him and it was causing blood to rise quite rapidly to his face.

Tears appeared in Azumarill's sparkling eyes. "(You're so noble!)"

"(I know, I know...)"

"(I'm so sorry! If I'd known you already had a mate, I would have never... Oh, I'm so sorry!)"

"(It's alright. Don't worry about it.)"

"(Thank you...)" She sniffled. "(Well, I guess I'll go back to my trainer, then... She's probably wondering where I am.)"

He stared at her. "(You have a trainer?)"

"(Oh, yes.)"

"(And you were _still_ planning on making a burrow out of town with me?)"

"(I was a girl crazy in love, what can I say? Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.)" She began walking away. "(Goodbye, my love! Enjoy your life with your mate!)"

He waved. "(Thanks!)"

She waved back. "(I will always love you for what you did for me! Farewell!)"

After what seemed like an eternity, she eventually fell out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, he finally let go of Buneary.

"(_Man_, I'm glad that's over...)" He looked at his friends, most of which were biting their lips. Some of them had watering eyes. Now he felt awkward again. "(Um...)"

Piplup was the first to burst out laughing, then the rest of them joined in. Croagunk merely stared at him.

"(Dawww!)" Pachirisu said. "(Pikachu's in _loooove_!)"

"(Guys...)"

"(So, Buneary's your mate now, huh?)" Buizel asked.

"(It's about time!)" Piplup added.

"(Yeah, no kidding!)" Chimchar said.

"(Guys...)" Pikachu replied weakly, "(you know that was just...)" He looked at Buneary, halting when he saw just how bright red her face was.

She stared at him for a moment, fiddling with the fur around her waist. "(E-Eep!)" she squeaked, pulling it over her face.

"(_Man_,)" Piplup said, "(if only our trainers could understand us! I'd have a story and a _half_ to tell Dawn!)"

"(It's too bad we don't have any _mistletoe_ for the occasion!)" Sudowoodo said with a salute. Everyone burst out laughing again.

"(A very merry Christmas, indeed...)" Croagunk added.

At this point, Pikachu couldn't wait to get back on the road. It'd certainly keep his friends quiet _and_ get rid of his immense desire to be swallowed up by the nearest black hole...

**The End**


	8. Decisions, Decisions

**Warning. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE approaching.**

Author's note: Hey there! So, I've decided that _this_ (points at bold text) will be the indicator in future of a one-shot that diverts from anime canon. I only have a couple in mind at the moment, but any future suggestions are welcome for me to mull over.

There's no guarantee that I'll use the idea, but I will if it's interesting enough! I don't like my plotlines to be too predicatable or eventless.

Anyway, please enjoy!

P.S. FUDGE! I had to rewrite the last bit of the one-shot (which was PERFECT), because I accidentally went off the page before saving! GAH!

P.P.S. I got the idea for this fic after watching a YouTube Poop of VGS2's, so he gets the credit for this one!

* * *

**Decisions, Decisions**

Buneary looked right, then looked left. It was morning and she was pretty hungry, but she wasn't really sure where she should go for her breakfast. On one hand, she could go right, deeper into an area that she knew had very little in the way of food. On the other hand, she could go left and cross the path to the wooded area on the other side, where she knew berries were more plentiful. However, going that way meant crossing the path that trainers were often seen walking down. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk running into one and, possibly, being captured.

She looked right again, at the area just beyond her hidden burrow, which eventually led to an open field, then left again, at the wooded area across the path. She looked left, she looked right. Which one did she want to choose?

After pondering hard over it for a few more moments, she shrugged and crossed the path. There were, fortunately, no trainers around to worry about, so she supposed her indecisiveness had been meaningless, after all.

* * *

Buneary bit into her second Oran berry, relishing the taste. It was amazing how close to the path the berries were growing on this side. She _knew_ she should've come here more often.

Suddenly, she heard a strange noise and perked up her ears in intrigue. It sounded like one of those human contraptions was coming down the path. That certainly didn't happen very often around here. Immediately after, she heard a sudden rustling. Curious, she turned her body towards the path, still chewing her berry, and looked to see what was going on.

Standing in the middle of the path, a human's cap on his head, was a Pikachu. He was staring off into the distance with a look of shocked horror on his face as the noise from earlier got louder. For a few seconds, she didn't register what was happening. By the time she did, the motorbike crashed into the Pikachu and sent him flying.

The next few moments were a blur. There was a sickening bang as his body hit a tree, the motorbike screeched to a halt and the blue/green-haired woman jumped off it in a panic. Buneary was so horrified at what she'd just seen that the berry slipped from her paws and dropped to the ground, unnoticed.

A black-haired boy and an Aipom emerged on the other side. "_Pikachu_!" the boy screamed.

"(No!)" the Aipom next to him cried.

A blue-haired girl with a pink skirt appeared behind him, her hands over her mouth. "Oh, no!" she cried.

"(Pikachu!)" the Piplup next to her cried, flailing his flippers around.

"No, no, no, no, no..." the blue/green-haired woman muttered as she moved quickly away from her motorbike.

Buneary was numb with shock. Utterly traumatised, she slowly got to her feet and edged into a better position. She honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to see this, but her morbid fascination was driving her legs forward.

What she saw was horrendous. The Pikachu was ten feet away from the motorbike, lying crumpled against a tree and partly obscured by a bush. The cap he'd been wearing was upside-down on the path by his feet. As far as she could see, his body was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, some of the cuts leaking blood down his face. His tail was bent at an odd angle and he appeared to be unconscious.

"Pikachu!" the boy cried, kneeling next to the mouse. "_Pikachu_! Say something to me! _Anything_!"

"(Pikachu!)" the Aipom cried, frantically waving her arms.

The woman tried to compose herself. "We need to get this Pikachu to a Pokemon Centre immediately!" she said. "The closest is in Jubilife City!"

The boy turned to her, tears in his eyes. "Well, don't just stand there, Officer Jenny!" he cried. "Help my Pikachu!"

"Right! Grab him and hop on!"

The boy grabbed the cap and shoved it onto his head, then gently scooped up the Pikachu and hurried over to the motorbike. As he passed the woman, she took one last look at the mouse with what seemed to be immense guilt, then hurried after him. Once they were seated - the boy keeping one arm around the Pikachu and the other around the woman - she started the engine and set off.

"We'll meet you there, okay, Ash?" the girl called out.

"Okay, Dawn!" he called back.

The girl, the Piplup and the Aipom ran back into the woodland.

* * *

Buneary stood stock still for a few moments, her brain still trying to process what she'd just seen. That poor Pikachu! What had he been doing, standing in the middle of the path like that? Well, motorbikes didn't usually come down there, but still!

She felt pity wash over her in waves. That poor Pikachu. It was just his terrible luck that a motorbike had to be coming down the path when he was on it. Why he was there, she didn't know, but no Pokemon deserved that kind of fate. Was he alright? He wasn't dead, was he? She shook her head. No, she was sure he wasn't dead, but was he alright? She'd seen the entire thing and it hadn't looked pretty.

Guilt suddenly consumed her. She'd been there, she'd seen the whole thing, yet she'd done nothing to help. She probably could have saved him, if only she'd reacted fast enough. Why hadn't her brain told her sooner that he'd been in danger?

Pokemon were built to withstand many hits, but mostly from other Pokemon. They could take a Giga Impact to the face and be perfectly fine the next day. They weren't, however, built to withstand a hit from a motorbike. While it seemed crazy, it was true. Pokemon attacks, they could brush off like nothing. A tonne of metal ramming into them at forty miles an hour and they were helpless.

That was how Buneary felt now: helpless. While she could have helped earlier, now, she couldn't do anything at all. It made her feel horrible. Was there anything she could do to make up for what she hadn't done? She thought about it for a moment.

Suddenly, the blue-haired girl, the Piplup and the Aipom returned, being followed by a taller brown-haired boy and a Croagunk. They ran along the path in the direction of the motorbike.

"They went _this_ way, Brock!" the girl said.

"(Yeah, _this_ way!)" the Piplup added.

"Alright, let's go!" the tall boy replied.

Buneary watched them for a moment, before making a decision. It was partially _her_ fault that the Pikachu was in this mess, so it was her responsibilty to make sure he was okay. She waited for the humans to be a reasonable distance away, so that they wouldn't notice her, then hopped after them.

* * *

Eventually, Buneary had followed the two humans and three Pokemon to a nearby city. She'd never actually been in this city before, so it was a little daunting, but she continued onwards, regardless, making sure to keep her distance. Soon enough, they reached a building that she assumed was this 'Pokemon Centre' that they'd mentioned. Watching them go inside the front door, she took a detour around the back of the building.

Once there, she paused for a moment as she took in the strange scene in front of her. A pink/purple-haired woman, a blue-haired man and a Meowth were all crouching by the window, tears in their eyes and pressing tissues to their noses. They sounded like they were holding in sobs.

She blinked and walked over. "(Um, excuse me?)" she said.

They all turned to her. "Hmm?" they all asked.

"(Is this where they're keeping the injured Pikachu?)"

"Huh?" the Meowth asked, rubbing at his eyes. It intrigued her slightly that he was speaking in perfect English. "How do _you_ know about de injured Pikachu?"

"Is this thing here to see Pikachu, too?" the woman asked.

"Apparently. Yeah, dis is where Pikachu's bein' kept." He tried to hold his composure, before bursting into tears. "He's covered in blood! And he hasn't woken up yet! Oh, Pikachu!"

The man and woman also tried to hold their composure, before bursting into tears.

Buneary felt sorry for them. Clearly, they knew this Pikachu and he meant a lot to them. She had no idea why they were outside, rather than sitting by his bedside, but she wasn't about to question them. Instead, she hopped onto the wooden box that the Meowth was standing on and peered into the window.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The Pikachu was lying in a bed, covered in blood-soaked bandages with an oxygen mask attached to his face. The monitor beside him was beeping at a consistent rate, but he wasn't moving. The three humans and three Pokemon from earlier were all sitting around his bedside, the black-haired boy being the closest of the six. The mood inside seemed to be very sombre.

The blue-haired girl was absent-mindedly fixing yellow clips into her hair, as she stared off into the distance. The tall brown-haired boy was staring at the floor and the black-haired boy was watching the Pikachu. It was very quiet.

The girl glanced over at the boy. "Pikachu will be okay... won't he, Ash?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course he'll be okay," the boy replied, his eyes never turning away from the Pikachu.

"Officer Jenny seemed pretty distraught about the whole thing..." the tall boy said.

There was an awkward pause. The Aipom sniffled and hugged the boy's leg. "(Pikachu...)" she muttered.

"(It's not your fault, Aipom...)" the Piplup said half-heartedly. The Aipom ignored him.

The girl placed a white hat on her head. "Are _you_ gonna be okay, Ash?" she asked. The boy remained silent.

"Nurse Joy said that Pikachu will have to stay here a week," the tall boy said. "It'll mean holding off on gym battles and contests for a while." Again, the boy said nothing.

The girl sighed. "It's a shame about that... but Pikachu's health comes first. Right, Ash?"

"Right," the boy replied.

* * *

After a while of watching the progress through the window - and leaving at one point to get herself some dinner, as Buneary had skipped lunch - it was now nighttime. As she hopped towards the window again, unable to stay away, the man, woman and Meowth were just starting to leave. They took notice of her as she approached.

"It's you again," the woman said in surprise.

"Why did you come back?" the man asked.

"(I wanna visit that Pikachu, make sure he's okay,)" Buneary replied.

"Ya wanna visit Pikachu?" the Meowth asked. "Ya mean, as in... go in, trough da window?"

She nodded. "(Yeah.)"

The trio looked at one another, then back at her. "And what, exactly, does Pikachu have to do with_you_?" the woman asked.

Buneary paused. "(Well... I feel really bad about what happened, so I just wanna make sure he's okay.)"

"Ya feel bad about what happened, huh?" the Meowth asked. "Why? Did ya actually _see_ it?"

She nodded again. "(Yeah, I did.)"

All three pairs of eyes widened. "You _did_?" the woman asked. All three jumped down on their hands and knees in front of her.

"How bad _was_ it?" the man asked.

Buneary averted her eyes as the memory of the crash flashed before her. "(... Pretty bad...)" she replied.

It seemed that the Meowth hadn't needed to translate for the humans that time, as a deathly silence fell over the three of them. After a few moments, they jumped to their feet again.

"Here," the woman said, lifting up the window. Apparently, the nurse had forgotten to lock it. "If you want to see him, go ahead."

"Just do us a favour, before you do," the man added.

"(Sure,)" Buneary replied. "(What is it?)"

"Don't tell Pikachu we were here," the woman said. Buneary cocked her head in confusion. "It's better if he doesn't know."

"(Um... okay.)" She didn't understand why they'd want to keep their presence a secret, but she wasn't going to question it. Instead, she jumped on the window-sill and turned to them. "(Thanks.)"

They nodded and began to walk away. Turning away from them, she jumped inside.

* * *

Sitting on the Pikachu's bed, she looked down sadly at his pitiful form. The machine continued to beep in that same steady rhythm nearby, as his chest slowly rose and fell. She said nothing for a few moments. What could she possibly say? This Pikachu didn't know her. Heck, he wasn't even conscious. What on Earth could she say?

As if on cue, his eyes gently fluttered open. Her breath caught in her throat as he gazed up at her through half-lidded eyes.

"(Huh?)" he asked through the oxygen mask.

She tried to smile for him. "(Hey there,)" she said.

He blinked once, then twice. "(Wh... Who are _you_?)"

"(I'm Buneary.)" She paused awkwardly. "(You don't know me, but... I saw what happened earlier.)"

He blinked again, then glanced down at his bedsheet. "(... I got hit, didn't I?)"

She twisted her mouth uncomfortably. "(Yeah, you did. A motorbike crashed into you.)"

He continued to stare at the bedsheet for a moment, then looked up at her. "(So, why are _you_ here?)"

She blinked. "(Huh?)"

"(You're just a wild Buneary, right? So, why are you here?)"

"(Well...)" She felt her face heat up slightly in embarrassment. "(I felt really bad about what happened...)" She looked away. "(I was there... I saw _everything_... Maybe I could've... saved you... then you wouldn't be so badly hurt...)"

There was silence for a few moments. Tentatively, she looked back at him to see that he'd fully opened his eyes and was staring at her.

He gave her a small smile. "(Hey, it's not your fault. I was being stupid and didn't look both ways.)" He chuckled, then winced.

"(Oh, careful...)"

"(I was chasing Ash's... my trainer's... Aipom, 'cause she'd stolen his hat.)" He closed his eyes. "(I guess I was too focused on the hat to pay attention to the road.)" He opened them again.

"(Well... in fairness, it's not often bikes come _down_ that path.)"

"(I guess... though it was still my own fault.)" He paused, then looked to the side of him. "(I hope I haven't upset Ash _too_ much...)"

"(He's the black-haired guy, right?)"

He looked back at her. "(Yeah.)"

She gave him another sad smile. "(He seemed pretty distraught. You two must be very close.)"

His face fell. "(Oh... poor guy... and yeah, we're _very_ close. I was his starter, back in Kanto.)"

Her eyes widened. "(You're from Kanto?)"

"(Yeah, we've been to a lot of regions together. He's only just started his Sinnoh journey...)"

"(I see...)"

He paused again, then looked up with another small smile. "(Thanks for being here, Buneary.)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(You have no reason to be here, yet you're here anyway. Thank you.)"

The heat rose to her cheeks again. That was an awfully cute smile. "(N-No problem.)"

He lifted a paw and touched his head, then flinched, hissing through his teeth. "(Ow...)"

"(Careful! Don't touch that.)"

"(It's really bad, then, huh?)"

She looked down. "(Yeah, pretty bad.)"

He sighed, placing his paw back on the bed. "(So, how long am I in for?)"

She looked up again. "(From what I heard, a week.)"

He gave a light groan. "(A week? Darn... that'll hold Ash back a bit.)"

She blinked. "(Doesn't your own health come before your trainer's journey?)"

"(Well, yeah, but I still feel bad.)" He paused. "(It's not all about _him_, though. I love battling and winning gym badges. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, you know?)"

"(Yeah?)"

"(Mmm-hmm. I also love travelling...)" He paused again. "(It's not the _first_ time I've been in the emergency ward, but a week's definitely the longest.)" He glanced outside at the darkness. "(What time is it, anyway?)"

"(I dunno. It's pretty late.)" She turned away from him. "(Maybe I should go and leave you in peace.)" She started walking across the bed.

"(Hey, wait.)"

She stopped and turned back to him. "(Hmm?)"

"(Could you... come back again tomorrow? I'd appreciate your company.)"

She blinked, then gave him a wide smile. "(Of course! I'll come back _every_ night, if you want!)"

He smiled brightly, cringing slightly. "(That'd be nice.)"

* * *

For the next week, Buneary came to visit Pikachu every night. She'd wait until the humans had left the room and turned out the lights, before entering through the window. Every single night, she'd see the same trio outside and they'd tell her the same thing: don't tell Pikachu they were there. She never questioned it and always did as they wished.

Every night, he'd looked a little bit better. In the first couple of days, Nurse Joy had stitched him up slightly and realigned his dislocated tail. After that, his bruises had become less visible and he'd eventually come off the oxygen mask. Throughout all of this, the two of them had talked into the many nights about all sorts of things. She'd told him about her rather dull life in the wild and he'd told her about his many amazing adventures. He'd described all the people he'd travelled with, all the places he'd visited and, most incredibly, all the legendaries he'd met.

As she jumped on his bed, he looked at her with a bright smile on his face and a clean bandage on his head. "(Hey, Buneary!)" he said.

"(Hey, Pikachu!)" she replied, returning the bright smile.

Over the course of the week, she'd learned what sort of Pokemon he was. He was incredibly sweet and kind, yet exceptionally talented and special, but what was most amazing was the way he treated _her_. She had nothing to do with him, he had no reason to want to see her every night when he had other,_closer_, friends, yet he was always happy to see her. Heck, he'd _asked_ her to come back. It made her feel very special, herself.

He was also taking his condition - that she would, frankly, call critical - very well. He was being so brave and, every night, he would get that little big stronger, that little bit healthier and that little bit more determined to get back on the road. She'd be sad to see him go. She'd developed quite a crush on him.

"(Nurse Joy said I'd be clear to leave tomorrow! Isn't that great?)"

Her heart dropped into her stomach. "(Oh...)" She forced a smile. "(Yeah, that's great.)"

"(I can't wait to get to the next gym! It's in... uh... well, I can't remember the _name_ of the city, but it's a walk off yet.)" He paused for thought. "(We're in Jubilife City right now, right? That means Dawn missed her contest.)" He stared sadly at his bedsheet. "(I hope there's another one soon.)"

"(I'm sure there _will_ be.)"

He looked up at her, then smiled. "(Yeah, you're right... and, if there isn't, she can get her first ribbon in _another_ city. She's got what it takes, I'm sure!)" He gave her a sheepish look. "(I mean, she's still a bit rough around the edges, but I believe in her.)"

"(Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine.)"

He looked her curiously. "(Buneary? Are you okay?)"

"(Yeah, I'm fine...)"

He tilted his head at her, silent for a few moments, then his eyes widened and his head straightened again. "(Oh!)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(Oh...)" His ears drooped. "(I'm not going to see you again after tonight, am I?)"

Her ears also drooped. "(No, sorry...)"

He looked back down at his bedsheet. "(That's a shame... I'll miss having you around...)"

"(Me too...)"

There was silence between them for a few minutes. Buneary didn't know what to say anymore, though it was a small comfort to know that _he'd_ miss _her_ as much as _she'd_ miss _him_.

Eventually, Pikachu's head snapped back up and there was a huge smile on his face. "(I've got it!)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(You could come _with_ us!)"

Her heart skipped a beat. "(C... Come _with_ you?)"

"(Yeah! Then we wouldn't have to say goodbye! Plus, Dawn's been trying for a _while_ to catch a Buneary, so it'll be perfect for her, _too_!)"

"(Yeah?)"

"(Yeah!)" He beamed at her. "(I'd love to have you along, Buneary.)" She blushed, fidgeting with the fluffy fur around her waist. "(Dawn's a really nice girl, so she'd look after you. That much, I can promise... and, if you let her catch you, she'll enter you in contests!)"

"(Wh-What were contests, again?)"

"(Well, unlike gym battles, which are all about power and brute force, contests focus on the Pokemon's grace and beauty.)" She was intrigued. That actually sounded rather appealing. "(And I think you'd do great in contests, Buneary! You're certainly cute enough!)"

She was certain her heart had stopped working for a few seconds. Her eyes widened, the heat on her face rising. "(C... Cu...)"

He gave her the most adorable smile she'd ever seen. "(Cute!)"

She couldn't take it anymore. She yanked her fur over her face, making odd squealing noises. _He thinks I'm cute!_ she thought with embarrassed delight.

"(Uh... Buneary?)"

She peeked over the top of her fur at him. "(Yes?)"

He paused for a moment, then started chuckling. "(You're a strange little thing.)"

She pulled the fur back over her face.

* * *

The next day, Buneary was standing a short distance away from the Pokemon Centre, waiting for her target: the blue-haired girl, known as Dawn. She'd made her mind up about what she wanted to do. She was going to battle her, let herself get caught, then travel the region with Pikachu. Who knows where this adventure would take her, but she wasn't going to worry about it. All that mattered right now was leaving her dreary woodland life to be with _him_. There was nothing more for her here. There never _had_ been, really.

At that moment, the door slid open and out stepped the three humans. Pikachu, the only Pokemon that could be seen with them, was riding on the boy's - Ash's - shoulder, now completely free of bandages. He caught her eye and smiled. Nodding to him, she made sure to block the humans' path, hopping up and down on her tiptoes: the sign that she was ready to battle.

As the girl spotted her, she lifted her paws up into a fighting stance and grinned. This was going to be fun.

**The End**


	9. Back To The Roots

Author's note: Howdy! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, let's kick off the end of my writing break with a simple little one-shot. Hope you enjoy it!

It's pretty short, I know, but not much else could be said here. It's my way of getting back into the game!

* * *

**Back To The Roots**

"Pachirisu, use Spark!" Dawn cried.

Pachirisu covered himself in blue electricity, then ran across the makeshift battlefield.

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash cried.

Pikachu charged towards the oncoming squirrel, gathering yellow electricity as he ran.

Dawn grinned. "Now spin!"

Pachirisu jumped off the ground and spun in mid-air, barely brushing the blades of grass beneath him.

Ash grinned back. "Roll!"

Pikachu curled into a ball and rolled. When the two electric rodents approached one another, they clashed. Blue and yellow sparks crackled in the air around them, until a tiny explosion sent them both flying backwards. Landing on their four paws, they skidded backwards and stopped, staring each other down.

"(Go, Pikachu!)" Buneary cried in joy.

"(You are such a traitor, you know that?)" Piplup said from next to her.

"Pachirisu, use Sweet Kiss!" Dawn cried.

Pachirisu stood up, brought his paws to his mouth and blew a kiss, sending a mass of hearts towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it!" Ash cried.

Pikachu hopped around, trying to dodge all the hearts as they came after him, one after another.

"Oh no, you don't! Pachirisu, spin and use Discharge!"

Pachirisu twirled on the spot, releasing a dazzling display of blue electricity that shot across the field. It struck the swarm of hearts and shattered them into tiny pieces, which landed on Pikachu like droplets of rain. The mouse was instantly swaying around in confusion.

"Pikachu! Shake it off!"

Pikachu violently shook his head, paused, repeated the motion, then punched himself in the face. Buneary winced at the sight.

"Now, Pachirisu! Use Spark!"

Pachirisu got back on all fours, covered himself in electricity, then ran towards Pikachu.

"Come on, Pikachu, snap out of it!"

"Now, combine it with Discharge!"

As he ran, Pachirisu unleashed more electricity, which, when merged with Spark, created a huge ball of blue energy around him. It crackled dangerously.

"Pikachu, jump!"

At the last possible second, Pikachu leapt off the ground, barely missing the attack.

"_What_?"

"Now, use Thunderbolt!"

Shaking off his confusion, Pikachu gathered up some yellow electricity, then fired it straight down at a shocked Pachirisu. It immediately zapped him.

"Pachirisu!"

When the electrocution ended, the squirrel collapsed, unconscious. The elevation from the attack, however, caused Pikachu to soar higher into the air, where he did a triple somersault before landing perfectly on his feet.

The spectacular finish was eerily familiar to Buneary, who remained wide-eyed in awe. She barely acknowledged the cheering from Ash's Pokemon, the grumbling from Piplup, the encouraging words from Brock or the friendly high-five between Ash and Dawn. The only thing she was focused on was Pikachu...

As the mouse and his trainer exchanged a peace sign, Buneary smiled warmly. There was so much about that Pokemon that she loved, but it hadn't always been that way. Once upon a time, her feelings hadn't been so deep.

The day she'd first met him had been like any ordinary day – wake up, get food, get on with life. When she'd stumbled across the human camp, she'd never expected to see what she did.

It had been a simple gesture – jump off shoulder, grab potato, land – but she'd been mesmerised by it. The precision, the accuracy, the casual nature with which he'd done it. It had honestly been the coolest thing she'd ever seen in her life.

Of course, nowadays was different. After much training by Dawn, she could now easily pull off the move herself. Back then, however, she'd been a simple wild Pokemon with little battle experience. Enough to give Piplup a run for his money, but still not terribly skilled.

She'd been so enamoured with this Pikachu that she'd followed him around, watching his every move like he'd been some kind of celebrity. She'd been unable to believe such a legendary creature existed.

Never before had she known what a total nutball she could be, until he'd spoken to her. The moment he'd said the words "Thanks for saving me!" she'd completely lost it. It was like being told "You're pretty cool!" by the local superstar. Ever since then, she'd never been able to keep her cool around him. It was just impossible.

The main reason she'd even allowed herself to be caught was just to be around him some more. It had partially been because of Dawn, having won her trust as a possible trainer and all, but it had mostly been because of Pikachu.

For a while afterwards, he'd maintained his celebrity status in her mind, especially whenever she'd watched him conquer what should have been impossible battle situations. Eventually, though, something had started to change. She'd begun to see more and more different sides to him. He was attractive, adorable, strong and athletic, yes, but he was also kind, gentle, modest, shy, determined and fair. He was everything wrapped up in one. He was her perfect guy.

Well, okay, he could stand to be a bit more confident around girls, but that was only a minor issue. Judging by how he'd reacted every time she'd tried to flirt with him, he had little to no experience dealing with admirers.

She giggled to herself. It was cute, in a way. All the blushing and the stuttering and that adorable way he'd awkwardly scratch the back of his head...

She was crazy in love with him. She'd never made any attempt to deny this. She was absolutely head-over-heels in love with him. He was amazing. He was perfect. Her only hope was that, someday, he'd come to love her the same way. She'd certainly keep on trying, if that's what it took.

"(Hey, Buneary?)" a familiar voice from nearby asked.

"(Hmm?)" she asked, turning the side. She jumped when she saw Pikachu standing right in front of her. "(Pikachu!)" She blushed at how close he was. "(Hi!)" She couldn't stop herself from beaming. "(What's up?)"

Pikachu smiled back. "(We were gonna play a game of tag. You wanna join in?)"

"(Sure! I'd love to.)"

"(Okay, great! Well, Piplup's about to start the countdown, so let's get over there and get ready to run.)"

Buneary nodded. "(Okay!)"

She happily followed him over to where the other Pokemon were waiting for them. Piplup was standing in place, his flippers on his hips and his beak in the air. Pachirisu was hopping up and down in excitement. All the others looked raring to go.

They stopped amongst the crowd, waiting for the signal from Piplup to start running. As they waited, Buneary took one last silent look at the mouse beside her, the smile still fixed on her face. Maybe one day...

**The End**


	10. Under The Light

Author's note: Hi! Well, you wanted it, so you're finally gonna get it! Get what, exactly? Read to find out!

... I'll admit, I didn't feel entirely comfortable about writing this thing, but the people have spoken!

... And I listened. Painfully.

So consider this your New Year's present, dear fans! Happy New Year!

Stupid storyline, go!

* * *

**Under The Light**

Buneary giggled as she ran through the bushes with Pachirisu. The other Pokemon, including her beloved Pikachu, were all running around elsewhere. They weren't really playing anything specific today. They were just running around for the sheer joy of it, while the humans prepared their lunch.

As she emerged into the clearing, Pachirisu dashed past her, heading towards Buizel and Sudowoodo. She made to follow him.

"Oh, it's so exciting!" Dawn squealed.

Buneary paused, wondering what her trainer was talking about.

"Yeah, I know!" Ash replied. "My battle with Paul's coming up real soon!"

"Yeah," Brock agreed, "just a couple more days."

"Not that!" Dawn said.

"Well, what, then?" Ash asked.

"New Year's Day, of course!"

"Yeah? Why are you so excited about it?"

"Ah, yes, of course," Brock said. "It's the coming of the new year. The time to start afresh and make New Year's resolutions."

"Not just that!" Dawn replied. "The tradition!"

"… Tradition?" Ash asked.

Dawn blinked. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"I must admit," Brock said, "I'm confused, as well."

Suddenly Dawn's face lit up with comprehension. "Of course!" she replied. "You two are from Kanto, right? So, you probably won't know about the tradition!"

"Then explain it to us," Ash said.

Dawn gave a smug grin. "Here in Sinnoh, we have a long-standing tradition that, if you kiss someone at midnight on New Year's Day, you'll be lucky in love for the rest of the year!"

"_Really_?" Brock cried in joy. He clasped his hands together and danced around. "I could be lucky in love? It's like a dream come true!"

Ash put his wrists on his hips. "Sounds kinda silly, if ya ask _me_..." he said.

The grin never left Dawn's face. "Oh, Ash, where's your sense of romance?" she asked. "_I_ personally think it's really sweet!" She paused for dramatic effect. "The boy and the girl... standing side-by-side beneath the stars... 'It's beautiful tonight, isn't it?' he asks... 'Yes, it is,' she replies... then he turns to her with a twinkle in his eye... 'But not as beautiful as you," he says... She turns to him, the breath catching in her throat..."

"This story's getting weird..."

"I think it's amazing!" Brock said, still dancing around.

"Hush!" Dawn said. She cleared her throat. "As the countdown commences, he leans forward, ever-so slowly... Entranced, she leans forward, too... and, just as the countdown reaches zero... their lips connect... The rest of the world vanishes as they kiss... under the light of the fireworks..."

"... Uh, okay then..." Ash said.

Brock had tears streaking down his face. "That story was beautiful!" he cried.

Ash gave him a confused look. "You think?"

"Yes!" Brock suddenly clenched his fist, fire burning in his eyes. "Tonight, that boy will be me! I must make it my goal..." He raised his hands to the sky, spreading them wide apart. "To find that girl and get my good luck kiss!"

From nearby, Croagunk silently raised an eyebrow at him.

Ash turned back to his female friend. "So, why is this _exciting_, Dawn? Did you have someone you were gonna try it out on, or something?"

Dawn laughed, looking slightly embarrassed. "Oh, gosh, no!" she replied. "I've just always thought it was really cute... Don't you think it's cute?"

"Not really..."

"Hmph, you have no taste." She playfully stuck her tongue out at him. After a moment, she smiled. "Actually, my mom always told me that was what happened between her and my dad. They kissed at midnight on New Year's Day and stayed together ever since!"

Ash smiled back. "Huh, really? That's kinda nice, Dawn."

Dawn beamed. "I know!"

Brock, still crying, was chewing on a handkerchief. "Proof that it works!" he cried. He let go of the handkerchief and ran off. "I have my mission!"

"Wait! Brock!" Ash cried.

"You haven't finished making lunch yet!" Dawn cried. "Brock!"

Croagunk rolled his eyes and slowly trudged after his trainer.

Buneary's eyes shone in wonder. So, a kiss at midnight would give her good luck in love? There was no way she was going to pass up such a golden opportunity! It was just too perfect!

There was just one tiny issue. Being a Pokemon, this human method of displaying affection was rather foreign to her, but Dawn had said nothing about licking, nuzzling or hugging. She had specifically said kissing. Well, if that was what she had to do...

She formed an 'o' with her mouth, then retracted it. Well, that had felt weird. She tried again. She knew _how_ to do it – due to having seeing the odd couple here and there on her travels – but actually _doing_ it was a different kettle of Remoraid...

She tried kissing her paw, then retracted it. Yeah, this would take some practice. It felt rather unnatural...

She glanced over the field and spotted Pikachu chatting to Piplup. A warm smile spread across her face. Unnatural though it may feel, she would have to get it right by midnight. She would just have to! A future with the guy she loved depended on it! She started to make a plan.

* * *

After lunch, Buneary tentatively approached Buizel, going over in her head what she'd say to him. When he turned to look at her, she snapped to attention.

"(Hey, Buizel!)" she said.

"(Hey,)" he replied. "(What's up?)"

"(Um...)" Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea, after all.

"(Yeah?)"

She shuffled her foot. "(We're friends, aren't we, Buizel?)"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "(Yeaaaah?)"

"(And you're a fairly humanoid Pokemon, right?)"

He blinked. "(Wait, what?)"

"(Do you think you could teach me how to kiss like a human?)"

There was a long pause.

"(Wait, wait, wait... kiss like a...? What brought _this_ on?)"

She blushed. "(Can you, or not?)"

He indicated himself with his paws. "(Buneary, I'm a weasel. Not a human. What makes you think _I_ can teach you weird stuff like that?)"

"(I just figured you were more human than most other Pokemon here...)"

Buizel heaved a sigh. "(Trying a new way to win Pikachu over, right?)"

"(... Is it that obvious?)"

"(Yeah.)"

Buneary heaved her own sigh. "(I just want something to work, you know? I try so hard and get nowhere and I just...)"

"(Yeah, I know... Pikachu can be a little dense, sometimes... but he's a good guy.)" He paused. "(I guess we can try practicing together, then.)"

Buneary's eyes widened. "(_Hmm_?)"

Buizel blushed. "(Not like that!)" He paused again. "(Unless that's really what you meant when you said you wanted me to-)"

"(No, no! That's not what I meant at all!)"

Buizel sighed in relief. "(Okay, good.)" He paused again. "(So, what the heck are we supposed to do?)"

"(I'm... not sure...)"

* * *

Pikachu wandered around, trying to find Pachirisu. The silly thing had run off in a sugar rush and now he had no idea where he was. He knew it was a bad idea for Dawn to give him candy. He sighed and shook his head.

He paused when he noticed Buizel and Buneary nearby and smiled. He was about to call out to them and ask if they'd seen Pachirisu, but then he halted. Just what were they doing?

Buneary was making weird faces and Buizel was analysing them. She'd make an 'o' with her mouth, then he'd stand back with his arms folded for a moment, then shake his head. After recycling this for a while, Buizel started making the weird faces himself.

Confused and perturbed, Pikachu turned and walked away, continuing his search.

* * *

Buneary sat in the snug confines of her Pokeball and continued to practice as they travelled. She honestly wasn't sure if she was making any progress with this. How was she to know if she was doing it right? She was a Pokemon, not a human. She supposed to could try asking Dawn how to do it, but _she_ likely wouldn't know, either. Not that it would be easy to communicate what she wanted Dawn to do, anyway.

Eventually – though it was hard to tell exactly how long from where she was - she felt a disturbance in the Pokeball. It clicked open and she felt herself being pulled, molecule by molecule, to the outside world. It was a weird feeling, but she was quite used to it by now. It wasn't painful, just weird.

Once she materialised on the ground, she gave a happy cry. It was always nice to be outside. Not that she hated her Pokeball, of course. She just liked the smell of the fresh air, as well as the company of her friends.

After being healed of their fatigue by Nurse Joy's miraculous healing machines, she and the other Pokemon were taken outside, where they were to train for a while.

"Lake Acuity's not far from here, is it?" Dawn asked, staring into the distance.

"I can't wait!" Ash said. "How far away are we, Brock?"

"Beautiful maiden!" Brock cried from nearby. Everyone turned to see him holding the hands of a girl with blood red hair. "Your hair is the colour of the burning passion I hold for you! Our love shall reach the far corners of the galaxy, if you would only grant me a single lucky midnight kiss!"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" the girl asked with wide eyes.

"(Oy, Casanova!)" Croagunk called out, jabbing his glowing fingers into Brock's rear end. "(Cool it.)"

"Or... maybe midday would work better for you..." Brock collapsed and Croagunk silently dragged him away.

"... Well, Nurse Joy said there'd be fireworks later tonight!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, that'll be cool!" Ash replied.

"Maybe we'll even see some kissing couples!"

"Uh, yeah..."

Buneary clenched her paws in determination. She had to get back to work.

* * *

As Ash and Dawn had a double battle, one using Grotle and Chimchar and the other using Piplup and Pachirisu, Buneary snuck off to find someone else to help her. She had plenty of options, but most of them were standing too close to Pikachu, the one Pokemon she didn't want overhearing her plans.

Wandering around, she eventually spotted the perfect Pokemon, as he was far away from everyone else. She didn't know how well this would work, but she was willing to try, so she trotted over to him. He was currently lying on the grass with his eyes closed.

"(Hey, Mamoswine?)" she asked.

He opened one eye and looked at her. "(Hmm?)" he asked. "(What?)"

"(Can you help me with something?)"

"(What's that?)"

"(I wanna learn to kiss like a human.)"

"(... What for?)"

Buneary faltered. "(To... Because... Look, can you help me, or not?)"

The single eye blinked. "(Do I look human to you?)"

"(Well... no, but...)"

"(Then I can't help you.)" He closed the eye.

"(Oh, come on, Mamoswine!)"

After a moment, the eye opened again. "(I'm trying to sleep, you know.)"

"(You can sleep later! I need your help right now...)"

He paused for a long moment. Eventually, he sighed. "(Fine...)" He opened both eyes. "(Tell me what to do.)"

* * *

Pikachu was eagerly watching the battle between four of his friends. It was so intense! It was even getting him pumped up to fight Paul and his blasted Electabuzz in a couple of days. He couldn't wait! He'd beat him this time, for sure!

He excitedly looked around for Buneary, to see what she thought of the battle, but was surprised when he didn't see her. Looking around for a moment, he eventually noticed her in the back of the crowd with Mamoswine.

He blinked in confusion. She was pulling those odd faces again, as was Mamoswine. Just what the heck was going on? Buneary was _normally_ pretty weird, but this was just beyond comprehension. As for Mamoswine? He looked rather freaky pulling those expressions.

* * *

"(This is ridiculous...)" Mamoswine said.

"(You don't think it's working?)" Buneary asked tentatively.

"(No.)"

"(Hey, guys!)" Staraptor said. He drifted down and perched on Mamoswine's back. "(You look funny. What are you doing?)"

Mamoswine gave a displeased grunt. "(Buneary here wants to learn how to kiss like a human.)"

Staraptor tilted his head. "(Why?)"

Buneary sighed. "(It's apparently good luck to kiss someone at midnight...)" she replied, "(so I wanted to try it.)"

"(... Ohhhh, I see!)" Staraptor straightened his head and grinned."(You wanna use it on Pikachu, don't you?)"

"(... Maybe.)"

"(Well, I'll help! Just show me what to do!)"

"(... But you don't have lips.)"

"(Hey, don't be racist against birds! Come on, let me try!)"

Buneary sighed again. "(Okay.)"

* * *

Pikachu blinked. Now Staraptor was at it! Just what were they doing? If only he'd been able to hear them talking, he might have an idea, but they were too far away. Plus, the yelling from Ash and Dawn and the attacks from Grotle, Chimchar, Piplup and Pachirisu were drowning out all outside noise.

He just didn't get it. Perhaps there was something he was missing. Maybe some inside joke he wasn't part of. He really didn't know.

* * *

Buneary sighed to herself. The day had been less rewarding than she'd hoped. She'd had so many hours of practice and she was still no better at kissing. She just had to face it; she had no idea what she was doing.

"Why, hello there!" Brock cried. Buneary looked up to see him swooning over some random girl with green hair. "My name's Brock and I think you're my ticket to a lucky year!" He suddenly put on a seductive air. "Perhaps you'd do me the great honour of a kiss at the stroke of midnight?"

"(Cease and desist!)" Croagunk cried, using Poison Jab on him again.

"Argh! Or just a peck on the cheek is fine..." Brock collapsed.

"(That's the tenth one today... This guy's getting desperate...)"

"(... Don't you _want_ your trainer to find love?)" Buneary asked.

Croagunk turned to her. "(Yes...)" he replied, "(of course I do...)"

"(So then why do you keep stopping him?)"

Croagunk stared at her in silence for a few moments. "(Look... I want him to be happy... Really... I do...)"

"(Hmm?)"

He indicated his barely-conscious trainer. "(But this isn't the way to do it.)"

"(No?)"

"(No.)" There was a long pause. "(He's being creepy.)"

"(Creepy?)"

"(Yeah. Someone's gotta tell him back off... when he starts getting too creepy.)" He paused again. "(If he'd court properly... then fine... but this forcefulness? It's creepy.)"

Buneary blinked, then blinked again. A sudden thought occurred to her. "(So... if you're forceful, you're creepy?)"

"(Yep.)"

"(... So... kissing someone at midnight... Is _that_ creepy?)"

Croagunk continued to give her that unnerving stare he was known for. "(Is that someone expecting it?)"

"(Well... no...)"

"(Does that someone want it?)"

"(... Probably not, but...)"

"(Then it's creepy.)"

Her ears drooped. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea, after all.

* * *

Pikachu blinked. "(Wait... what?)" he asked.

Happiny beamed at him. "(I heard her!)" she replied. "(She said she wanted to kiss you at midnight! Not sure why, though! Seems really weird to me!)" She giggled.

Kiss? Buneary wanted to kiss him? As in, a human kiss? He blushed. What on earth could she want to do that for? He knew she liked him, but this was just... He had no words for how he was feeling right now. He just knew that he had to talk to Buneary.

* * *

Buneary was sitting on the grass when she heard an unmistakable voice say her name.

"(Hey, Buneary?)" he asked.

"(Hmm?)" she replied, turning to him. Upon seeing Pikachu's face, a beaming smile appeared on her own. "(Hi, Pikachu!)"

He looked perturbed. "(Can I ask you something?)"

She felt slightly concerned at the look on his face. "(Sure! What's wrong?)"

"(... Happiny told me you were planning to...)" His face flushed red. "(Kiss me at midnight...)"

Her eyes widened. Happiny had heard that? "(Oh... well...)" She blushed and shuffled around on the grass. "(Yeah, I was... b-but it was a stupid idea, anyway! Plus, I guess it was kinda creepy... so I wasn't gonna do it anymore...)"

"(... Oh, I see. Okay.)"

"(Mmm-hmm...)"

"(... Can I ask why you were gonna do that?)"

Her paws started to fidget with the fur around her waist. "(I heard from Dawn that it's a human tradition in Sinnoh... Kissing at midnight brings good luck in love for the rest of the year...)"

Pikachu's blush seemed to darken slightly. "(Oh... I see...)"

"(It was a stupid idea...)" She smiled apologetically. "(I'm sorry.)"

"(No, no, it's... fine...)"

"(... So, we're cool?)"

"(Yeah... we're cool...)"

* * *

A while later, after they'd eaten dinner in the Pokemon Centre and trained some more, Buneary began to notice something odd about Pikachu. He'd been very quiet since their conversation earlier that day. Even after training with Ash, he'd seemed oddly distant. Now, this late in the day, he was sitting on a rogue tree stump and staring into space. He looked deep in thought about something. She couldn't imagine what.

She only hoped that he wasn't upset about earlier. Maybe he really did find the whole thing creepy...

* * *

It was now very late at night. Normally, Ash, Dawn, Brock and their Pokemon didn't stay up this late, but, since it was a special occasion, they'd allowed for a slight change in the status quo. Even Nurse Joy, who was normally very strict about the eleven o' clock curfew, was standing outside, waiting for the fireworks to start.

"I'm so excited!" Dawn squealed. "It's nearly midnight!"

"Yeah!" Ash replied. "The firework show should be fun!"

Brock was crying to himself. "I didn't find a girl to kiss..." he said.

"No need to worry, Brock!" Dawn replied. "There's always next year, right?"

There was a pause. Suddenly, Brock did a very dramatic fist clench. "You're right! I won't let this stop me from getting a girlfriend!"

"Atta boy, Brock!"

Buneary smiled and shook her head. The idiot really had no clue at all.

After a moment, a yellow figure appeared beside her. Surprised, she turned to see Pikachu standing there, staring up at the sky.

"(Hey, Pikachu!)" she said cheerfully.

"(Hey, Buneary...)" he replied distractedly.

She eyed him with concern. "(You okay?)"

"(Yeah! Yeah...)"

She watched him for a few more moments, then turned back to the sky.

Dawn squealed. Buneary looked at her to see that she was looking at her Poketch. "It's almost time!" she cried.

"Alright!" Ash replied happily.

"Ready? It's time for the countdown!" She paused a moment. "Ten! Nine! Eight!"

Everyone else started chanting with her. "Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

Suddenly, something yellow obscured Buneary's vision. Before she could figure out what was happening, a pair of lips pressed against hers. She squeaked in surprise.

"Happy New Year!"

Everyone cheered, just as the fireworks starting exploding in the sky, bathing the area in a rainbow of colours.

After a moment, Pikachu moved away, his face bright red and a shy smile on his face. "(Did I do that right?)" he asked.

Buneary felt like her heart had stopped. She stared dumbly at Pikachu, her eyes wide and her face heating up like she'd eaten a Tamato berry.

"(Um... Buneary?)"

She didn't respond.

Pikachu suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "(I did it wrong, didn't I? Sorry... I didn't really know what I was doing, but I thought I'd surprise you, so I-)"

She squealed in delight and tackled him in a hug.

"(Gah!)" He flailed his arms around in an attempt to stay on his feet. Eventually, he stabilised himself. "(B-Buneary?)"

"(I can't believe you did that!)" she cried with delight. "(Why did you do that? Not that I'm complaining, but... wow!)"

"(Well, you said you wanted to kiss me, so...)"

"(But I said I'd drop it! I wasn't gonna do it anymore!)"

"(Yeah, well... I gave it a lot of thought and, well... you looked really sad when you said you weren't gonna do it anymore and I guess I... felt bad about it...)" He paused. "(And I also kinda... was a little... sad it wasn't gonna happen... so I thought I'd, you know... let it happen...)"

"(Oh, that's so sweet!)" She snuggled into his fur. "(You're the most adorable guy ever!)"

"(Heh... thanks.)" He paused. "(It did feel weird, though.)"

She giggled. "(Oh, I know! I've been trying to get it right all day!)" He chuckled in response. There was a short silence. "(Thank you, Pikachu... Thank you so much...)"

"(Heh. No problem, Buneary...)"

The two of them turned to watch the fireworks together, a warm glow brimming in Buneary's chest. It seemed the new year would be lucky, after all.

**The End**


End file.
